RADIOMANGA BLOGMUSIC

VIDEO IDOL LIVE!

2010-01-13T08:26:00.000-08:00

TOP VIDEOMUSIC IDOLS

ALI PROJECT	AYUMI HAMASAKI	AI OTSUKA
AYA HIRANO	AMI TOKITO	AMI SUZUKI
AYA KAMIKI	AYA MATSUURA	AYA UETO
ABINGDON BOYS SCHOOL	AYAKA	ANNA TSUCHIYA (NANA)
ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION	ANGELA AKI	BONNIE PINK
BoA	BEAT CRUSADERS	BOOM BOOM SATELLITES
CHIEKO KAWABE	DIR EN GREY	DREAMS COME TRUE
ERI NOBUCHIKA	FICTIONJUCTION YUUKA	GIRL NEXT DOOR
GACKT	GO GO 7188	HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR
HIKARU UTADA	HITOMI SHIMATANI	HINOI TEAM
HOME MADE KAZOKU	IKIMONO GAKARI	KEN HIRAI
KIRORO	KOTOKO	KOKIA

VIDEO IDOL LIVE!

2010-01-12T08:32:00.000-08:00

TOP VIDEOMUSIC IDOLS

KUMI KODA	L’ARC~EN~CIEL	LUNKHEAD
MAKI GOTO	MAAYA SAKAMOTO	MASAMI OKUI
MEGUMI HAYASHIBARA	MINORI CHIHARA	MIKUNI SHIMOKAWA
MINAMI KURIBAYASHI	MORNING MUSUME	MAMI KAWADA
MIHO HATORI	NAMI TAMAKI	NAMIE AMURO
NANASE AIKAWA	NANA MIZUKI	NANA KITADE
OBLIVION DUST	PUFFY	RIE FU
RIE TANAKA	RIMI NATSUKAWA	RIP SLYME
RURUTIA	RYŪICHI SAKAMOTO	SAVAGE GENIUS
SHANADOO	SHIINA RINGO	SMAP
SOUND HORIZON	SOUTHERN ALL STARS	THE PILLOWS
THE BRILLIANT GREEN	TOMOYASU HOTEI	UVERWORLD
V6	YUI SAKAKIBARA	YUKI KAJIURA
YUNA ITO	YUI	YOKO ISHIDA
YOUNHA	YUI HORIE	YELLOW GENERATION

RADIO ANIME LIVE!

2010-01-09T15:14:00.000-08:00

TOP IDOLS JMUSIC

ALI PROJECT	AYUMI HAMASAKI	AI OTSUKA
AYA HIRANO	AMI TOKITO	AMI SUZUKI
AYA KAMIKI	AYA MATSUURA	AYA UETO
ABINGDON BOYS SCHOOL	AYAKA	ANNA TSUCHIYA (NANA)
ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION	ANGELA AKI	BONNIE PINK
BoA	BEAT CRUSADERS	BOOM BOOM SATELLITES
CHIEKO KAWABE	DIR EN GREY	DREAMS COME TRUE
ERI NOBUCHIKA	FICTIONJUCTION YUUKA	GIRL NEXT DOOR
GACKT	GO GO 7188	HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR
HIKARU UTADA	HITOMI SHIMATANI	HINOI TEAM
HOME MADE KAZOKU	IKIMONO GAKARI	KEN HIRAI
KIRORO	KOTOKO	KOKIA
KUMI KODA	L’ARC~EN~CIEL	LUNKHEAD
MAKI GOTO	MAAYA SAKAMOTO	MASAMI OKUI
MEGUMI HAYASHIBARA	MINORI CHIHARA	MIKUNI SHIMOKAWA
MINAMI KURIBAYASHI	MORNING MUSUME	MAMI KAWADA
MIHO HATORI	NAMI TAMAKI	NAMIE AMURO
NANASE AIKAWA	NANA MIZUKI	NANA KITADE
OBLIVION DUST	PUFFY	RIE FU
RIE TANAKA	RIMI NATSUKAWA	RIP SLYME
RURUTIA	RYŪICHI SAKAMOTO	SAVAGE GENIUS
SHANADOO	SHIINA RINGO	SMAP
SOUND HORIZON	SOUTHERN ALL STARS	THE PILLOWS
THE BRILLIANT GREEN	TOMOYASU HOTEI	UVERWORLD
V6	YUI SAKAKIBARA	YUKI KAJIURA
YUNA ITO	YUI	YOKO ISHIDA
YOUNHA	YUI HORIE	YELLOW GENERATION

RADIO JAPANESE MUSIC

2009-12-30T21:17:00.000-08:00

TOP IDOLS JMUSIC

ALI PROJECT	AYUMI HAMASAKI	AI OTSUKA
AYA HIRANO	AMI TOKITO	AMI SUZUKI
AYA KAMIKI	AYA MATSUURA	AYA UETO

ALI PROJECT - VIDEOS

2009-12-01T04:26:00.000-08:00

ALI PROJECT

Ali Project (typeset as ALI PROJECT) is a Japanese band with a strong Japanese Aristocrat-style image, consisting of Arika Takarano (宝野アリカ, Takarano Arika) (vocals & lyrics) and Mikiya Katakura (片倉三起也, Katakura Mikiya) (music & arrangement).

In the band's earlier days, their musical style tended towards light, cheerful and/or refreshing songs. However, the sound has changed in recent times to take on a darker and more mysterious tone. Takarano Arika, lead singer/lyricist, has termed this change as a transition from White Alice (白アリ, Shiro Ari) to Black Alice (黒アリ, Kuro Ari). Though there has been a general shift towards performing songs in the "Black Alice" phase, Ali Project has occasionally sung in the White Alice style as well.

They made their indie debut in the charts in 1988 as Ari (Ant) Project (蟻プロジェクト, Ari Purojekuto) with their album Fantastic Garden (幻想庭園, Gensō Teien). The album was later included in Tatsumi Takayuki's book Philosophy of Progressive Rock (プログレッシヴ・ロックの哲学?), which led to the band being classified under the progressive rock genre.

Four years later in 1992 they changed their name and made their major debut with their single Fall in love, maiden (恋せよ乙女, Koi-seyo otome).

Most of their records are released by Toshiba-EMI, Victor Entertainment and Tokuma Japan. The band is notable in the anime community for having their songs featured in several anime opening and ending sequences, most notably in the series Noir, Rozen Maiden, Linebarrels of Iron, and Code Geass. Additionally, Katakura Mikiya has also provided the soundtrack to several anime series, such as Kaibutsu Oujo and Avenger.

First U.S. Concert

Ali Project played their debut concert in the United States at the 2008 Sakura-Con in Seattle, Washington to an enthusiastic crowd of over 9000. Reportedly, the band itself insisted on making their debut performance in North America at the convention. After the performance, there was a signature session where fans could personally talk to Arika Takarano and get her signatures on CDs sold at the convention.

ANGELA AKI - VIDEOS

2009-01-10T06:17:00.000-08:00

ANGELA AKI

Angela Aki (アンジェラ・アキ, Anjera Aki), born Kiyomi Aki (安芸聖世美 Aki Kiyomi) on September 15, 1977, is a singer-songwriter and pianist from Itano, Tokushima, Japan.

Biography

Early life

Aki's father is Japanese and her mother is Italian-American. She is the daughter of Kiyoshi Aki, the owner and co-founder of Aeon Institute of Language Education. This is one of the "Big Four" Eikaiwa (English conversation) schools in Japan. She began to take piano lessons when she was three years old. She lived in Tokushima-shi through sixth grade, and spent her junior high school days in Okayama-shi, Okayama. She moved to Hawaii when she was fifteen years old and graduated from Iolani School. Thus Angela Aki speaks English and Japanese. She got absorbed in music there for four years. She graduated from George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and majored in political science
On March 9, 2007, Aki announced publicly that she had gotten married and made public that she had been briefly married previously and divorced.

YELLOW GENERATION - VIDEOS

2009-01-05T08:23:00.000-08:00

YELLOW GENERATION

Yellow Generation (known as YeLLOW Generation in Japan) was a female J-pop trio signed under Sony Music Japan's DefSTAR Record label from 2002-2006. The group was best known for the singles Kitakaze to Taiyō (北風と太陽 North wind and sun), and "Tobira no Mukō e" (扉の向こうへ, "To the Other Side of the Door"?), which was the second ending theme for the anime Fullmetal Alchemist.

The trio was made up of the members Yuki (ユキ), Yūko (ユウコ), and Hitomi (ヒトミ). Altogether the band had released two albums and nine singles, but after a year of silence the band finally decided to part ways on November 15th, 2006.

Albums

CARPE DIEM - December 11, 2002

* 01. Open your eyes
* 02. CARPE DIEM～今、この瞬間を生きる～ (Carpe Diem ~ima kono shunkan o ikiru~)
* 03. 北風と太陽 (Kitakaze to Taiyō)
* 04. 逃げ水～Like a road mirage～ (Nigemizu ~Like a road mirage~)
* 05. Lost Generation
* 06. Another“Myself”
* 07. 裸の王様 (Hadaka no Osama)
* 08. 2880316～地球最後の日の皆様へ～ (2880316 ~Chikyū Saigo no Hi no Minasama e~)
* 09. Christmas Card
* 10. 鬼灯 (Hozuki)
* 11. I will never forget.～もうひとつの理由～ (I will never forget)
* 12. And Just Open Your Heart

life-sized portrait - October 10, 2005

* 01. YELLOW
* 02. 扉の向こうへ (Tobira no Mukō e)
* 03. うたかた (Utakata)
* 04. Listen!
* 05. トリトマ (TORITOMA)
* 06. レモナーデ (REMONA-DE)
* 07. あのね・・・ (ano ne...)
* 08. チョコレイト～鮮烈な味わい魅惑の世界～ (Chocolate ~senretsu na ajiwai miwaku no sekai~)
* 09. 夜空に咲く花～eternal place～ (Yozora ni Saku Hana ~eternal place~)
* 10. 春雷 (Shunrai)
* 11. 終わりのない道 (Owari no Nai Michi)
* 12. 扉の向こうへ～FULLMETAL mix～ (Tobira no Mukō e ~FULLMETAL mix~)

YUI HORIE - VIDEOS

2009-01-05T08:20:00.000-08:00

YUI HORIE

Yui Horie (堀江由衣, Horie Yui, born on September 20, 1976) is a popular Japanese singer and voice actress. Horie's real name is Yoshiko Horie (堀江由子, Horie Yoshiko?), and she is sometimes affectionately nicknamed "Hocchan" (ほっちゃん) by her Japanese fans. She is not to be confused with YUI, another J-Pop singer.

She hosts a radio show called "Horie Yui no Tenshi no Tamago" (堀江由衣の天使のたまご, "Yui Horie's Angel Eggs") and is the founding member of the singing group, Aice. She is also a member of the band Kurobara Hozonkai, with the name YUIEL. Her hobbies include shoulder massage, reading and cooking.

Biography

Horie was born in Katsushika, Tokyo, Japan. As a child, she was a huge fan of the anime series Dirty Pair and has later stated that the series was her first inspiration to become a voice artist.[citation needed]

She debuted in 1997 in a video game Voice Fantasia and for several years had minor roles in various anime. She landed her first leading role as Haruka in Kurogane Communication. The turning point in her career wasn't till the year 2000, when she won the role of Naru Narusegawa in the popular anime Love Hina. Other notable and defining career moments were taking the role of Tohru Honda in the anime Fruits Basket in 2001, and releasing her 1st music album (Mizutamari ni Utsuru Sekai) in 2000. She has since become one of the most popular anime voice actresses in Japan.

Horie formed a temporary unit called Yamato Nadeshiko with the popular seiyū Yukari Tamura in 2001. They released two singles, "Mō Hitori no Watashi" (もうひとりの私?) and "Merry Merrily" - the latter of which was an insert song in the Love Hina Christmas Special.

In October, 2005 she founded Aice⁵, a J-Pop group consisting of 4 other seiyūs, to help launch their careers. Aice⁵ was officially disbanded on the September 20, 2007.

She has collaborated with a few other artists, such as Unscandal in 2005 and Kurobara Hozonkai (黒薔薇保存会?) a Japanese Goth band in 2007.

She was employed by Arts Vision until mid-2007 due to a scandal within the agency's top management, at which point she left to become a freelance seiyū unaffiliated with any talent management firm.

She has published 6 independent musical albums. Nearly all of them incorporate at least one track from an anime she has worked with. She currently releases music under the Starchild label (a subdivision of King Records)

Her radio show is "Horie Yui no Tenshi no Tamago" (堀江由衣の天使のたまご?) and can be listened to on the station JOQR (文化放送?)(AM 1134 kHz) at 0:30am on Mondays .

YOUNHA - VIDEOS

2009-01-05T08:16:00.000-08:00

YOUNHA

Younha (Korean Hangul: 고윤하; hanja: 高潤荷; Go Yoon-ha, Japanese Katakana: ユンナ, Yunna) born April 29, 1988 in Seoul, Korea, is a K-Pop and J-Pop South Korean singer.

ounha made her debut as an artist at the young age of sixteen. Nicknamed the "Oricon comet" for her success in Japan, she has released eight singles and two albums there with varying degrees of success. Several of her songs have been featured in anime and drama series.

Younha was signed to Epic Records, a branch of Sony Music Entertainment Japan, from 2004 to 2008, after which she moved to Sistus Records, a Geneon Entertainment label. In South Korea, she is signed to Lion Media and Stam Entertainment.

Biography

Early life

Born in South Korea to music-loving parents, Younha began to play the piano at the age of 4. She developed an interest in Japanese Drama and began to teach herself Japanese. What began as an interest in Japanese dramas developed into an interest in Japanese music. With the recommendation of an older student in her school's broadcasting club, she began listening to artists such as Hikaru Utada and Misia and acquired a taste for Japanese music. Younha began to dream about becoming a singer alongside her favorite artists.

YOKO ISHIDA - VIDEOS

2009-01-05T08:13:00.000-08:00

YOKO ISHIDA

Yoko Ishida (石田燿子, Ishida Yōko, born October 7, 1973 in Niigata, Niigata Prefecture) is a Japanese singer, employed under Hyper Voice. She is known for having performed theme songs for anime shows such as Prétear, Ai Yori Aoshi and the Ah! My Goddess TV series, as well as for having sung for the Para Para Max CD series.

Ishida entered the entertainment industry after winning a contest to become an anime song singer. She made her debut in 1993 with the song Otome no Policy ("Maiden's Policy"), ending theme for the Sailor Moon R anime. At the time her name was written as 石田よう子, but it was later changed to 石田陽子. In 2000, she changed it again to 石田燿子, which she uses to this day.[citation needed]

Apart from anime songs, she has also sung children's songs.

Albums

* 2003-02-26: sweets
* 2004-08-25: Hyper Yocomix
* 2005-03-09: all of me
* 2006-08-25: Hyper Yocomix 2
* 2007-09-21: Single Collection
* 2008-06-25: Hyper Yocomix 3

YUI - VIDEOS

2009-01-05T08:09:00.000-08:00

YUI

Yui (stylized as YUI) (ユイ, born March 26, 1987 in Fukuoka, Japan) is a Japanese singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and actress. She is currently signed to Studioseven Recordings and attached to the talent agency Stardust Promotion.

Biography

Early life

Yui grew up in a fatherless home and so does not have any memory of her father. She does remember always being close to music, be it from her mother's car stereo or the radio, she would remember the tunes and sing along. By the time she was in elementary school she thought she would like to become a singer.

During her third year in middle school, following the influence of her mother, Yui began keeping a journal of everyday feelings and poetry. Because of this, by the time she was in high school, she began writing songs. While in high school she worked a part-time job to help pay for tuition. Always busy, with her time steadily disappearing, she thought there was no longer a road to music. Eventually her body would breakdown and she found her self under hospitalization. While in the hospital, with the time to consider her life, she was overwhelmed with the desire to make music. She decided that school and music could not coexist. Upon leaving the hospital she encountered a live street performance and expressed her desire to pursue a musical career to the band, Bianco Nero, at the end of the concert. Bianco Nero recommended to Yui that she should join a private music school and soon, she dropped out of high school and seriously began studying songwriting and guitar at a juku in her hometown of Fukuoka. Aspiring to become a professional, she carried her guitar around and sang at local places at the entrance of Tenjin station in Fukuoka. Doing these street performances helped Yui to eventually overcome her shyness.

YUNA ITO - VIDEOS

2009-01-05T08:06:00.000-08:00

YUNA ITO

Yuna Ito (伊藤由奈, Itō Yuna) (born September 20, 1983) is an American pop singer-songwriter and actress who is active in Japan. She was born in Los Angeles and was raised in Hawaii. Ito made her musical debut with the single, "Endless Story", which was used as one of the theme songs for the 2005 film Nana; she also starred in the film, portraying Reira Serizawa. In 2006, Ito reprised her role as Reira for the sequel of the film singing the theme song, "Truth". In 2007, Ito released her debut album, Heart, which debuted atop the Oricon.

Biography

Early life and music interest

Ito was born to a Japanese father and a Korean-American mother in Los Angeles, California. Her family later moved to Oahu, Hawaii where she remained until the start of her singing career in Japan. From a young age Ito dreamed about becoming a singer, after being inspired by the powerful vocals of Mariah Carey. At the age of fifteen she was offered a music contract, but turned down because "they saw her as a girl and not a singer".

Initially when Ito told her parents of plans to become a singer they disapproved of her choice. Her parents wanted Ito to attend school and meet a "nice guy". Ito disagreed with her parents, saying they wanted to "compact her life into a storybook". Ito graduated from McKinley High School in 2001 and has a younger brother named Johnny.

YUKI KAJIURA - VIDEOS

2009-01-05T08:02:00.000-08:00

YUKI KAJIURA

Yuki Kajiura (梶浦由記, Kajiura Yuki), born August 6, 1965 in Tokyo, Japan, is a Japanese composer and music producer. She has provided the music for several popular anime series, such as Madlax, Noir, .hack//SIGN, Aquarian Age, My-HiME, My-Otome, Tsubasa Chronicle, and one of the Kimagure Orange Road movies (amongst others). She also assisted Toshihiko Sahashi with Mobile Suit Gundam SEED and Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny. Kajiura has also composed for the Xenosaga video game series, namely the cutscene music for Xenosaga II and the entire Xenosaga III game soundtrack. She currently resides in Tokyo.

Due to her father's work, Kajiura lived in West Germany since 1972 and until her middle school years. Her first music piece, which she had written at the age of 7, was a farewell song for her grandmother. After graduating from college (back in Tokyo), she began working as a systems engineering programmer, but in 1992, she turned her career around to focus on her activities on music. She admits that it was her father who greatly influenced this decision, for he was a great opera and classical music admirer.

In July 1992, she made her debut in an all-female trio See-Saw, then consisting of Chiaki Ishikawa (lead vocals), herself (back-up vocals, keyboards), and Yukiko Nishioka. In the following two years, the group released six singles and two albums but in 1995 they temporarily broke up. Nishioka decided to become a writer while Kajiura carried on with her solo musician career, composing music for other artists as well as sound producing for TV, commercials, films, animation and games.

In 2001, she and Chiaki Ishikawa reunited as See-Saw. Around the same time she became involved with Koichi Mashimo's animation studio Bee Train and their first widely popular project, Noir. Despite the series' controversial status among the reviewers, all critics generally praised its OST[citation needed] as a breakthrough in the animation music scene for its risky but highly successful mix of synth, opera, and French-flaired sound.

In 2009, Fiction Junction returned to perform the opening themesong to Pandora Hearts, Parallel Hearts, with The majority of the show's music composed by Yuki Kajiura.

YUI SAKAKIBARA - VIDEOS

2009-01-05T07:58:00.000-08:00

YUI SAKAKIBARA

Yui Sakakibara (榊原ゆい, Sakakibara Yui) born October 13 is a female Japanese choreographer, dancer, singer, songwriter, and voice actress from Hyōgo, Japan. She appeared on Kōhaku Uta Gassen as back ground dancer behind Ami Suzuki in 1999 and 2000. She used to use the name Mayo Hinano (雛野真代(まよ), Hinano Mayo) and others in her previous voices.

V6 - VIDEOS

2009-01-05T07:55:00.000-08:00

V6

V6 is a six-member Japanese boy band formed by Johnny & Associates. They debuted on November 1, 1995 with their first CD-Single "MUSIC FOR THE PEOPLE".

Due to the difference in age between the six members, subunits were formed within the group. The three oldest members formed 20th Century (Tonisen, in short) whilst the youngest three formed Coming Century (Kamisen, in short).

As they are 'idols', each member takes part in a variety of activities - as well as singing, they appear in TV dramas, variety shows, host radio programmes etc. 20th Century are usually associated with being on stage in plays and musicals, whereas Coming Century are more often in TV dramas (although every member has done both).

History

There are many theories behind the meaning of the "V" in V6. It is said that it stands for Victory, but members have mentioned on TV programmes etc that it also means Volleyball (as their debut single was used in the World Cup Volleyball Tournament in 1995), Versus (20th Century versus Coming Century), Vegetable (as Sakamoto's parents own a green grocers), Vicycle (obviously means Bicycle - Nagano's parents own a Cycling store) and Veteran (as Inohara was told). It's mostly believed to stand for Volume, which derives from their album that they made.

UVERWORLD - VIDEOS

2009-01-05T07:52:00.000-08:00

UVERWORLD

Uverworld (ウーバーワールド, Ūbāwārudo) is an influential rock band known for their mixture of musical genres such as hard rock, electronic, and post-punk.[citation needed] Uverchan, the band's mascot, is a fictional bear-bat like character, which appears on several of their covers.

The five-member band known as Uverworld first formed in 2003, and were known as Sound Goku Road or, more popularly, "Sangoku Road." The band originally consisted of seven members, and released Prime'03, a demo CD which ended up selling 3,000 copies. Unfortunately, one of the band members, the saxophonist Seika, left the group (the other was Hiko, who left after he married). After his departure, Ace Trigger renamed himself Takuya and the band renamed itself to Uverworld.

According to an interview with the band there was another vocalist who left, however this vocalist hasn't yet been identified. Though it appears that that person may have left some time before Seika did, as Seika is the only one of the two credited on the demo CD and pictured with very early live photos of the band pre-Uverworld.

June 11, 2008 saw the release of the single Gekidou / Just break the limit!. Gekidou was used as the fourth opening theme of the anime series, D.Gray-man, while the song Just break the limit! was used as a support song for Pocari Sweat's CM. Two more singles were released in 2008, Koishikute (恋いしくて) and Hakanaku mo Towa no Kanashi (儚クモ永久のカナシ). Hakanaku mo Towa no Kanashi was used as the opening for the second season of Mobile Suit Gundam 00 anime. The single became the bands first number 1 single on Oricon with approximately 181,784 copies sold. The single has since gone on to become the highest selling single from the band.

On February 18, 2009 the band released their 4th album titled Awakeve. The album sold over 115,000 copies on its first week and ranked #2 on the Oricon album chart. The band is also releasing a new DVD Uverworld Premium Live at Nippon Budokan on 29th of April.

The band is releasing a new single on August 5, 2009 titled as Go-On. The single's title track will be featured on the Japanese broadcast of House.

TOMOYASU HOTEI - VIDEOS

2009-01-05T07:48:00.000-08:00

TOMOYASU HOTEI

Tomoyasu Hotei (布袋寅泰, Hotei Tomoyasu, born February 1, 1962 in Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture) is a Japanese musician, guitarist and actor.

Biography

Hotei first began playing the guitar in junior high school. In high school, his band “Blue Film” finished runners up in a school contest to “Death Penalty", a band led by Kyosuke Himuro. Hotei was expelled shortly before graduation. The reason was that, when warned about his long hair he replied “Jesus had long hair!” Shortly after, he went to Tokyo where one day he received a phone call from Himuro. The two had never really known each other but hit it off and went on to hold auditions for a new band, which in 1981 became the six-member Boøwy. The band became major stars in Japan, in 1985 played the Marquee in London, and in 1986 had their first million seller, Beat Emotion.
When the band broke up in 1988, Hotei established himself as a solo star, as did Boøwy singer Kyosuke Himuro. Hotei also made two albums with Koji Kikkawa as Complex, both of which went to number one in the national charts. Hotei frequently records overseas, and has collaborated with many foreign musicians, including playing on The Stranglers Hugh Cornwell’s 1993 solo album, on stage with David Bowie at Nippon Budokan in 1996, and at the closing ceremony of the Atlanta 1996 Centennial Olympic Games with Michael Kamen.

He later recorded “Guitar Concerto” with Kamen. He has also worked with Andy Mackay of Roxy Music, guitarist Chris Spedding and Mike Edwards of Jesus Jones. Hotei also sometimes plays in Europe, and performances include a number of major festival dates. His regular drummer in recent years, Zachary Alford, has previously played with Bruce Springsteen and David Bowie. His album of 1998 Supersonic Generation, recorded in part with Apollo 440 and Ofra Haza, was released in 14 European countries.

In addition to releasing many best-selling solo albums, Hotei composed & performed the score for Hiroyuki Nakano’s Samurai Fiction, as well as starring in the film. He composed the score to Terry Gilliam’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas together with Ray Cooper, and the song “Battle Without Honor or Humanity” was used in the Quentin Tarantino’s film Kill Bill, the PlayStation 2 version of Dance Dance Revolution SuperNOVA,and Michael Bay’s film Transformers. Hotei recorded a cover of John Lennon’s “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” for Merry Axemas, an instrumental guitar Christmas album featuring tracks from guitarists including Jeff Beck, Joe Perry and Steve Vai.

Hotei ventured into the world of video gaming, with the Nintendo DS game Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan featuring his song Thrill. It was followed by a sequel, Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii, which featured another Hotei song, Bambina. Both songs were cover versions.

Hotei is featured in “Grace” on the Apocalyptica album Worlds Collide. The song is featured in NHL 09.

THE BRILLIANT GREEN - VIDEOS

2009-01-05T07:43:00.000-08:00

THE BRILLIANT GREEN

The Brilliant Green is a Japanese pop rock band formed in 1997 and signed to Sony Music Entertainment Japan.

Overview

The Brilliant Green take much of their influence from Western music, most predominantly The Beatles, with over half their songs including English lyrics. Their break came in 1998 when their third single, "There Will Be Love There," was chosen as the theme song for the popular Japanese Drama Love Again and, as a result, went straight to the top of the charts. After another number one hit with "Tsumetai Hana" they released their self-titled debut album which sold over one million copies in just two days.[citation needed] On the back of this success their first national tour, titled "There Will Be Live There," sold out across Japan in only three minutes.

In 2001, Time magazine chose The Brilliant Green as one of the top ten contemporary acts outside the U.S. for their "Los Angeles" album. In 2001, Tomoko Kawase started a solo project under the name Tommy February6.

After the release of The Winter Album in 2002, the band members moved on to solo projects, but the group never officially broke up. Kawase continued as a solo artist under the names Tommy February6 and Tommy Heavenly6. Matsui also started a new project called Meister. On November 22, 2003, Kawase and Okuda announced their marriage.

On June 1, 2007, it was announced that after five years of inactivity, The Brilliant Green would be returning with a new single to celebrate their 10th anniversary. The song, titled "Stand By Me," was selected as the ending theme for the new series of TV drama, Detective School Q, which began on July 3, 2007. The comeback began in earnest on August 22, 2007, as the new single hit the stores.

The band appeared in their first proper live show since their comeback by playing at the Iwafune Mountain Cliff Stage on October 21, 2007. This performance was part of the Iwafune Cliff Stage Special 2007 with The Brilliant Green appearing alongside other musical acts including DxD, Sowelu, and Viagrade.

The second single release of their comeback, "Enemy," was released on December 12, 2007. The following single, titled "Ash Like Snow" appears as an opening theme in the anime series, Mobile Suit Gundam 00. On February 20, 2008 a compilation album titled Complete Singles Collection '97-'08 was released. The band has also mentioned in an online interview that a new studio album is currently in the works, consisting of previously unrecorded songs that were written over the previous ten years.

THE PILLOWS - VIDEOS

2009-01-05T07:38:00.000-08:00

THE PILLOWS

The Pillows (styled as the pillows) are a Japanese alternative rock band, best known internationally for the soundtrack of the anime series FLCL. During its long-running career, the group has released more than a dozen original studio albums, along with several EPs, singles and compilations. The Pillows are currently signed to the Avex Trax label.

History

The Pillows were formed on September 16, 1989 by Sawao Yamanaka (rhythm guitar and vocals), Yoshiaki Manabe (lead guitar), Kenji Ueda (bass), and Shinichirou Sato (drums) in Hokkaidō. Kenji Ueda would leave the group three years later and has never been officially replaced.

Following Ueda's departure, the band recruited Tatsuya Kashima as a replacement on bass. Out of respect for Ueda, Kashima was only labeled as a guest musician on releases he performed on. He would stay with the band through 1999 and the release of their 7th overall album "Runners High." Kashima was replaced by Jun Suzuki who is still with the band today.

In 1999, The Pillows were approached by the anime studio Gainax, which licensed The Pillows' three previous albums for the soundtrack of their latest anime FLCL. The Pillows also composed two new songs for the show, "Ride on Shooting Star" and "I Think I Can," which were released on their album "Fool on the Planet."

In March 2005, The Pillows played their first show in the United States at the South by Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas, followed by concerts in New York City and San Francisco.[3] In the following year, The Pillows returned to North America during their tour in support of the album My Foot, with several more dates in the U.S. and a show in Mexico City.

The group's album Wake Up! Wake Up! Wake Up! was released on May 2, 2007 their first on the Avex Trax label.

The single, "Ladybird Girl," was released on August 15, 2007, and is being used in the Japanese version of the children's show Ben 10 as its theme song.

They returned to the US in 2008 starting with Los Angeles, followed by another appearance at SXSW, San Francisco, Seattle, New York City, and Boston.

Pied Piper is the sixteenth studio album by The Pillows, released on June 25, 2008. It includes the singles "Ladybird Girl," "Tokyo Bambi," and "New Animal" as well as the b-side "Across the Metropolis."

SOUTHERN ALL STARS - VIDEOS

2009-01-05T07:34:00.000-08:00

SOUTHERN ALL STARS

Southern All Stars (サザンオールスターズ, Sazan Ōrusutaazu), also known by abbreviations Southern (サザン, Sazan) or SAS, are a Japanese pop rock band that formed in the mid 1970s.

The band is comprised Keisuke Kuwata (lead vocals and guitars), Yuko Hara (vocals and keyboards), Kazuyuki Sekiguchi (bass), Hiroshi Matsuda (drums) and Hideyuki "Kegani" Nozawa (percussion). In addition to the present lineup, former guitarist Takashi Omori had worked in the band until 2001.

After the contract with the Victor Entertainment, the band released their top-ten charting debut single "Katte ni Sindbad" in 1977. Since then, the Southern All Stars have been one of the best-selling music groups in the past 30 years of Japan, selling more than 47 million albums and singles in the country alone so far. They have had over 40 top-ten hit singles and 16 number-one albums on the Japan's Oricon Charts as of 2008.

Their compilation entitled Umi no Yeah!! released in 1998 has sold more than 3.3 million copies and became the best-selling double-album in Japan. Their most commercially successful song "Tsunami", released in 2000, has sold over 2.9 million units in Japan alone, and provided the band with honor of winning the 42nd Japan Record Awards. The band were also acclaimed and ranked the number-one in a list of "100 influential Japanese musicians", provided by a record retailer HMV Japan in 2003.[7] They also have an unprecedented record that their 44 songs were ranked at the same time on the Oricon Top 100 weekly single chart.

The band have occasionally gone into hiatus up to now, and they are to suspend their career again from 2009.

History

Early years

1975 saw a prototype of the band composed of Aoyama Gakuin University students who belonged to the popular music club "Better Days", formed by Keisuke Kuwata. In their early days, the band changed its name frequently, such as "Onsen Anma Momohiki Band", "Piston Kuwata and the Cylinders", and "Keisuke Kuwata and the Hitchcock Gekijou". Finally, when keyboardist Yuko Hara joined the group, they chose a permanent name. Named after the "Fania All-Stars" and "Southern rock" by Kuwata's friend.

After several changes of members, they tried for "Yamaha EastWest '77", the contest of amateur musicians by the Yamaha Music Foundation. At this contest, Kuwata won a prize for the "best vocalist". When the band participated in this contest, Hiroshi Matsuda and Hideyuki Nozawa, two members who were not Aoyama Gakuin's students joined them, and all the members of the group were then assembled.

On June 25, 1978, their debut single "Katte ni Sindbad" was released from Victor Entertainment. Its title was named after two hit songs in Japan in 1977, "Katte ni Shiyagare" by Kenji Sawada and "Nagisa no Sindbad" by Pink Lady In addition, the release date of their debut single was Sawada's 29th birthday. The song featured Kuwata's impressive coarse-grained vocals like a tongue twister. To promote their first single, they appeared on various TV programs. The weird costumes they dressed in and their eccentric performance made an unforgettable impact on listeners. Their single gradually climbed the charts, and peaked at number-three on the Japan's oricon singles chart in autumn of the same year.

Because of the sales promotion of "Katte ni Sindbad" and a following single "Kibun Shidai de Semenaide", they were considered performers of novelty songs. However, "Itoshi no Ellie", their third single released on March 25, 1979, was sufficient to overturn their comedic public image. This pop-ballad was highly regarded by many Japanese music critics and artists, including Hiroshi Miyagawa and Kosetsu Minami. The song is regarded as one of the most notable songs by the Southern All Stars. In 1988, a cover version by Ray Charles was featured in a Suntory Limited TV advertisement. It was released as a single in Japan only, and reached number-three on the Oricon. The cover version by Charles became the best-selling single performed by a Western artist in 1989.

Two months after the Southern All Stars released their debut single, their first album called Atsui Munasawagi was marketed. The band was not able to devote ample time to recording and songwriting for 10 Numbers Carat, their second album which featured their breakthrough ballad "Itoshi no Ellie", which was released only eight months after their debut album. Kuwata's angry look on the album cover mirrored his exhaustion. Hence, the leader of the band wasn't satisfied with the quality of the album, and has stated that the album was "trash".

SOUND HORIZON - VIDEOS

2009-01-05T07:31:00.000-08:00

SOUND HORIZON

Sound Horizon, abbreviated by fans as Sanhora, is a Japanese musical group with composer Revo as the leader. They call themselves the 'fantasy band'.

Musical Style

Their music is generally in omnibus style; an album contains multiple stories with different themes that create one long story. Soprano or mezzo-soprano vocals are mainly utilized. Usage of narration is not restrained. Strong anime influences and applications are apparent in their music; they have started inviting seiyū for narration since their major debut. Their lyrics are very often mysterious and metaphorical, even more so than those of other J-rock musicians, with themes varying from fantastic ones like ancient curse, legend, dreams, war, and paradise to forbidden lust, longing, obsession, crime, relationships, etc.

SMAP - VIDEOS

2009-01-05T07:27:00.000-08:00

SMAP

SMAP ("Sports Music Assemble People") is a Japanese "idol" group, formed by Johnny & Associates. Originally, there were six members in the group; current members are Masahiro Nakai, Takuya Kimura, Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, Goro Inagaki and Shingo Katori

Their CD debut was in 1991. Since then they have released many singles and albums, and with the exceptions of a few, all releases reached #1 in charts. Recently, the interval of releasing single CDs is becoming relatively long, approximately once a year. The members of SMAP have also starred in many television variety shows, dramas, commercials, and movies. Their fanbase mostly consists of Japanese women. SMAP is often considered to have gone past the so called "Idol Group" status, and have become the "Top Group" in Japan. SMAP is also well known in many other Asian countries.

History

The SMAP members were formed into a group in 1988 when chosen by talent agency Johnny & Associates to be part of a group of twelve backup dancers for Hikaru Genji, a popular idol group at the time. Six of these dancers were then chosen to form a group of their own, SMAP, an acronym for "Sports Music Assemble People".[1] Their début in 1991, in a time when there weren't many music programs, was not immediately successful. Of all of Johnny's groups, SMAP was the least popular.

In August 1991 a Saint Seiya musical sponsored by Bandai, was shown in the Aoyama theater in Tokyo, Japan. The story recalls the Sanctuary and Poseidon chapter, starring the members of SMAP as the five bronze saints and Poseidon.

Since SMAP was so unsuccessful, Nakai asked Johnny's office to let SMAP have a variety program to make people laugh with their unique personalities. The program was called "I Love SMAP" (愛ラブSMAP, ai rabu SMAP, a pun as the first character also means "love"). Through this program, SMAP slowly gained popularity. 1993 was a year of opportunities for SMAP. They had a hit single, and SMAP member Takuya Kimura was in a TV drama called "Asunaro Hakusho", in which he played Osamu Toride, a shy boy. Asunaro was a big hit and Kimura's popularity soared. At the same time, SMAP also provided the opening and ending themes for the anime Hime-chan's Ribbon, and Tsuyoshi Kusanagi appeared in multiple episodes as himself doing the voice of a regular character. SMAP also recorded the opening song, "Kimi Iro Omoi", for the anime Akazukin Cha Cha, and this time the youngest member, Shingo Katori, lent his voice for the whole show as the young strong werewolf, Riiya.

After that, SMAP members starred in movies both individually and as a group, and SMAP continued to release new hit singles composed by professionals. Their song "Yozora no Mukou" was mentioned in some Japanese textbooks.

In 2008, they had a six-day tour at the Tokyo Dome, becoming the Japanese artist(s) to have the most amount of tour at the Dome. They also released a new album super.modern.artistic.performance (SMAP) on the first day of the tour, September 24, 2008.

SHIINA RINGO - VIDEOS

2009-01-05T07:22:00.000-08:00

RINGO SHIINA

Ringo Shiina (椎名林檎, Shiina Ringo) is a Japanese musician born on November 25, 1978. Right now, most of her energy is focused on her band, "Tokyo Jihen".

She once called herself in "Shinjuku-kei Jisaku-Jien-ya (新宿系自作自演屋, the person who performs in a play of her own writing in the Shinjuku style?)". She currently considers herself a singer of mood-songs and a light music player.

She was ranked number 36 in a list of Japan's top 100 musicians provided by HMV.

Biography

Early life

Yumiko was born in Urawa (Present: Saitama), Saitama Prefecture to Kōtarō and Akiko Shiina, an oil company executive and full-time homemaker. She was born with an esophageal atresia in which the esophagus narrows as it approaches the stomach. Treatment of this involved several operations, at least one of which requiring her right shoulder blade to be cut open. These surgeries left Shiina with large scars on her shoulder blades, said to give the impression that an angel's wings had been removed.

Her first exposure to music came from her father's interest in jazz and classical music; additionally, her mother had majored in dance in college and practiced ballet. Her parents owned a large collection of music, a piano, and a guitar, and her father also was a devoted reader of music magazines. She began to take piano lessons at the age of 4 and studied classical ballet starting at the age of 5.

While very outgoing as a young child, Shiina became shy and quiet after her family moved to Shimizu (Present: Shimizu-ku, Shizuoka), Shizuoka Prefecture on account of her father's job. Her parents remember her as a mostly trouble-free child, except that she could not stand being alone and would throw tantrums if she could not have a friend to play with. Otherwise she was generally retiring and spent her early school days without attracting attention.

Following that, the family moved (again because of her father's job) to Sawara-ku, Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture and Shiina entered junior high school there. Fukuoka became an important city for her, though she lived there for only six years. While there she once again became an outgoing person. Her official biography originally announced that she came from Fukuoka, and she often answered interviews in Fukuoka dialect "Hakata-ben" at the time of her debut.

Entering junior high, she realized that it was impossible to become a ballet dancer. Her body had become less symmetrical, owing to the results of the operations in her infancy. The new piano and ballet teachers who didn’t know her circumstances pointed out in succession that she couldn’t give power equally to the right and left parts of her body, and she noticed that. She stopped taking ballet lessons, and stopped studying piano soon afterwards. On the other hand, she started listening to a wider range of music other than classical music or the records of her parents. She got absorbed in drama and longed to be a dramatist or to be involved in stage design. She was asked by her drama teacher to add music to the lines of a play, and taking advantage of this opportunity, she began her musical activities. She formed a band with her classmates and performed in the school festival. She played drums at the beginning, but finally sang as the lead singer. Although the band broke up, she began to make demos and began to aim to be a professional musician.

SHANADOO - VIDEOS

2009-01-05T07:18:00.000-08:00

SHANADOO

Shanadoo is a Japanese Eurodance group produced in Germany. The majority of their recorded works have been Japanese covers of a German dance act, E-Rotic.

Information

Shanadoo is an all female group made up of four young Japanese women from the Platinum Production agency. Shibuya, Fukuda and Fuku had worked together before the Shanadoo project had started as a part of Avex Trax's promotional unit, Vivace. Vivace's activities included work as race queens, bikini pin-up modeling and even a few Japanese Eurobeat-style recordings for various Avex Trax music compilations such as Girl's Box. Genda was later added to the group as Lead Vocalist once the Shanadoo project went into project with noted Eurodance Producer, David Brandes. Brandes' production credits include acts such as E-Rotic, Bad Boys Blue and Vanilla Ninja.

Released on June 16, 2006 through one of Brandes' record labels, Icezone Music, Shanadoo's first single, "King Kong", a cover of E-Rotic's 2000 work of the same name, later recovered in 2005 by Hinoi Team in Japan, was met with great success. Shanadoo's works were exclusive to Germany and other European markets, such as Austria, until December 2006, when avex announced that a then untitled debut album would be released on February 28, 2007 in Japan. In January 2007, it was announced by Icezone Music that Shanadoo's fourth single, to be released on March 9, 2007 in Germany, would be original content instead of a Japanese cover of E-Rotic.

Shanadoo has remained active in 2008, with their activities shifting from Germany to Japan. They are currently building a fan following by frequently performing at numerous music festivals and events. Shanadoo also announced in late 2008, a collaboration with Japanese clothing design house Kiks Tyo to have their likeness appear on a designer t-shirt line set for release in early 2009.

On December 18, 2008, after a brief mention on Shanadoo's official blog in November 2008 of a new song "No Crime" being performed at recent live events, the Nintendo Wii video game Dance Dance Revolution Full Full Party was released in Japan featuring a short edit of the song. On January 29, 2009 an official soundtrack for the game is scheduled to be released that features a full version of the song. "No Crime" is produced by Japanese video game sound producer, Naoki Maeda, and is the first of Shanadoo's recorded works to not be produced by David Brandes.

RYŪICHI SAKAMOTO - VIDEOS

2009-01-05T07:15:00.000-08:00

RYUICHI SAKAMOTO

Ryuichi Sakamoto (坂本龍一, Sakamoto Ryūichi, born January 17, 1952) is an Academy Award-, Grammy-, and Golden Globe-winning Japanese musician, composer, record producer and actor, based in New York and Tokyo. He played the keyboards in the influential electropop band Yellow Magic Orchestra. His 1999 musical composition "Energy Flow" is the first number-one instrumental single in the Japan's Oricon charts history. He was ranked at number 59 in a list of the top 100 most influential musicians compiled by HMV Japan.

Biography

Early years and Yellow Magic Orchestra

Sakamoto attended the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, where he earned a B.A. in music composition and an M.A. with special emphasis on both electronic and ethnic music.

After working as a session musician, he formed the internationally successful synthpop trio Yellow Magic Orchestra, with Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi.

RURUTIA - VIDEOS

2009-01-05T07:11:00.000-08:00

RURUTIA

Rurutia (ルルティア) is a Japanese singer/songwriter. She began her career in 2001 with the release of 'Itoshigo yo' when she was signed to Toshiba-EMI. She is currently signed to Phoerix Records as of mid-2005 and has released a total of 5 regular albums and 10 singles thus far. Rurutia is an intensely private artist; most aspects of her life - such as her age and her real name - are not known to the public. This fact, added to her whispered vocals, creates a unique and mysterious atmosphere around her.

Her pseudonym, Rurutia, is derived from the Tahitian word rorotea meaning 'blissful rain'.

RIP SLYME - VIDEOS

2009-01-05T07:07:00.000-08:00

RIP SLYME

RIP SLYME is a Japanese hip hop group. It is composed of 4 MCs; Ryo-Z, Ilmari, Pes & Su, and 1 DJ, Fumiya. Their sound derives its influences from old school hip hop and other Hip Hop such as The Pharcyde, De La Soul, Public Enemy, Jurassic 5, the Beastie Boys, DJ Premier, Leaders of the New School.

Biography

The group was formed in 1994 by Ryo-Z and Ilmari, who were later joined by Pes (he attended the same school as Ilmari). The RIP in RIP SLYME stands for their initials. Slyme was a popular children's toy at that time. Their name is also a pun on the phrase "lips' rhyme". Winning an amateur rapping contest "Young MCs In Town", they started their musical career with their first album Lips Rhyme in 1995. Later they added DJ Fumiya (who had studied under East End X Yuri's DJ Yoggy) and Su (previously a backup dancer for East End X Yuri). In 1998 they released their second album, "Talkin' Cheap" and also took part in Dragon Ash's Total Communication event.

They became ever more successful and signed to Warner Music Group in 2000. By then they had release several indie singles include their EP "Underline No. 5" and "Mata Au Hi Made" which had received the help of Fantastic Plastic Machine. "Mata Au Hi Made" was released on Warner Music Group's Indies label. Their first major single was "Stepper's Delight" released 22 March 2001. The title was a play on The Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight".

In summer 2008, they released Taiyou to Bikini, their only single that year. Later that year, three digital singles would debut, all of which would be on the February 2009 single STAIRS. Rip Slyme released their eighth album, JOURNEY, on June 10th, 2009.

Rip Slyme has provided voiceover work as well as the ending theme for the Japanese dub of SpongeBob Squarepants[1]. The episode aired on May 6th, 2009.

SAVAGE GENIUS - VIDEOS

2009-01-05T07:03:00.000-08:00

SAVAGE GENIUS

savage genius is a Japanese band signed to Victor Entertainment. Since 2008, Aa (ああ) has stayed as the only member of the band.

History

The duo Aa (vocals and lyricist) and Takumi (composer/arranger, producer) started as a songwriting group in the live music scene in Kobe. They debuted in the 2001 AXIA Artist Audition, and signed with Warner Music Japan, cutting two singles.

In 2004 they signed with Victor Entertainment, where they continue to release songs, many of which are anime theme songs.

On the 30th of November 2007, it was announced that one of the group's members, Takumi, had retired.

RIMI NATSUKAWA - VIDEOS

2009-01-05T06:59:00.000-08:00

RIMI NATSUKAWA

Rimi Natsukawa (夏川りみ, Natsukawa Rimi) is an Okinawan folk singer who performs ethnic Ryukyuan music, which is sometimes mistaken by Yamato Japanese listeners as Kayōkyoku. She blends traditional music elements with modern elements, which gives her a characteristic sound. Her album Single Collection Vol. 1, has been awarded the Nihon Record Grand Prize for excellence.

She married percussionist Masaaki Tamaki on January 1, 2009

RIE TANAKA - VIDEOS

2009-01-05T06:55:00.000-08:00

RIE TANAKA

Rie Tanaka (田中理恵, Tanaka Rie, born January 3, 1979 in Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan) is a singer and voice actress (seiyū). Notable among her numerous roles are Lacus Clyne in Gundam Seed/Gundam Seed Destiny, Chii and Freya in Chobits and Suigintou in the anime adaptation of Rozen Maiden.

Information

As a child, Tanaka took singing classes and garnered respect by performing in a number of concerts. After graduating high school, she joined one of Tokyo's popular animation companies and took on singing roles for some of her characters.[citation needed] She has a fan club named Café de Rie. She is known to own a few animals, such as a kitten and also a puppy. She is not fluent in English. Tanaka has released two albums: 24 Wishes and Garnet, but didn't gain much success. Tanaka is also a member of the Steel Angels, a singing trio composed of the three lead seiyū of Steel Angel Kurumi, together with Atsuko Enomoto and Masayo Kurata.

RIE FU - VIDEOS

2009-01-05T06:51:00.000-08:00

RIE FU

Rie fu (リエフゥ, Rie fū), born Rie Funakoshi (舩越りえ, Funakoshi Rie) on January 11, 1985 in Tokyo, is a Japanese singer-songwriter. She regularly commutes between the United Kingdom and Japan to record and promote her work.

Biography

From 1992 to 1995, Rie fu lived in Maryland with her family. It was during this time that she started playing the piano and where she gained much of the inspiration for her music, namely from artists such as Sheryl Crow, Michelle Branch and 1970s pop musicians such as The Carpenters. She cites Carole King, Joni Mitchell, The Carpenters, and Yumi Matsutoya as influences.

After returning to Japan, from 1995 to 2003, Rie finished her primary and secondary education in Tokyo. In 2002 she learned guitar, and almost immediately began coming up with songs and recording them with a normal tape recorder. She sent the demo tape off to a record company (Sony) and they signed her. Her first single, Rie who!?, featuring the song "decay", was released in March 2004. Later that year, her song "Life Is Like a Boat" was chosen as the Bleach ending theme, garnering her widespread recognition and demand. In 2005, a year after her debut, another song, I Wanna Go To A Place... was used as the Gundam Seed Destiny third ending song, and in 2006 her song Until I Say was used as the theme to the Japanese release of the 2005 British movie Heidi. In 2007, she performed the ending theme, Tsukiakari, to the anime series Darker than Black.

She graduated from the Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design of the University of the Arts London in fine art (having shifted in interest from fashion design and graphic design) during 2007. She has stated on her website that she would like to become a student again. Rie often designs much of her own album and single booklets, and Rie's own paintings are often featured in them.

Rie fu's songs are often bilingual, since she is fluent in both English and Japanese. Although most of her songs are primarily sung in Japanese, many feature entire verses written in English. Of her songs written entirely in Japanese, several have later been released as English language versions.

On March 3, 2008, Rie fu released an album in the U.K. on a label called Tired & Lonesome. The album, a compilation of earlier songs with one never-before-released Joni Mitchell cover, is entitled "Who is Rie fu?" Though the label is based in England, her album will be released in other European countries marking it her European debut.

PUFFY - VIDEOS

2009-01-05T06:47:00.000-08:00

PUFFY

Puffy (パフィー, Pafī, romanized as PUFFY in Japan) or Puffy AmiYumi is a Japanese rock duo that is currently signed with Sony Music Japan. The group continues to go by the moniker of PUFFY in Japan, but in order to avoid legal naming conflicts with Sean Combs, it has adopted the name Puffy AmiYumi outside of Japan.

Ami Onuki, whose nickname is Jane, and Yumi Yoshimura, nicknamed Sue, were scouted by Sony-affiliated talent agencies and put together in the mid-1990s, and soon Puffy-mania would begin. Puffy-mania reached its peak in 1998–1999, following the release of their Jet CD and the Jet tour.

Their first release "Asia no Junshin" sold a million records and their success has continued with several more full-length releases (totaling 14 million sales in Japan).

History

Talent searches brought Puffy together

When she was in high school, Ami sang for a band called "Hanoi Sex". In her sophomore year, the band auditioned during the Sony SD Audition and passed, becoming employees of Sony Music Entertainment. Years went by with little action by either the band or the record label, as Ami took vocal lessons and attended a professional school to learn how to become a better performer. Eventually the band dissolved, leaving only Ami under Sony's employment. She was encouraged to stay, despite lacking a band and a clear musical direction.

Separately, Yumi had learned of the Chotto Sokomade talent search underway by Sony Music Artists when she was "around 18". She also auditioned and passed. She moved on her own from Osaka to Tokyo, where she eventually met Ami by chance in the Sony Music offices and then at a concert after-party, when the two hit it off. Both felt alone within the large Sony organization and neither were confident in their abilities as solo artists, so even though Ami had already recorded a solo CD under the guidance of former Unicorn front-man Tamio Okuda (it would later become half of solosolo), they requested Sony pair them as a duo.

When paired together, their voices blended well and they had a close rapport. Producer and American pop musician Andy Sturmer christened them "Puffy", for which they dubbed him "the godfather of Puffy".

Ami had previously met Tamio Okuda at a SPARKS GOGO concert, and he had produced her then-unreleased solo CD. He was eventually signed on to produce Puffy's first album amiyumi. Their debut single, "Asia no Junshin", launched Puffy-mania. Asked if they were surprised by the attention after its success, Yumi told an interviewer "... everything that was put together for that song all came together and made it happen, but we didn't expect it. It was luck."

As "Puffy-mania" exploded, they become multimedia stars, including hosting their own weekly TV show Pa-Pa-Pa-Pa-Puffy with guests such as Lenny Kravitz, Sylvester Stallone, Harrison Ford, and rock band Garbage.

OBLIVION DUST - VIDEOS

2009-01-05T06:43:00.000-08:00

OBLIVION DUST

Oblivion Dust (OD) is a Japanese rock band that incorporate elements of electronic music to an indie rock format. They stand out due to their original style and because also a big part of their songs are written and sung in fluent English.

History

In May 1995 the band Addict of the Trip Minds stopped activities due differences in the direction of the band. The drummer Taka Motomura (who played in the self-titled album indie Addict of the Trip Minds in 94 and the bassist Derek Forbes (who had arrived short while ago to the band) decided reform the band starting over again and taking a "western style". In late 95´ they recruited K.A.Z as lead guitarist and in early 96´ recruited Ken Lloyd as vocalist and (in a beginning) guitarist. They started to make songs and went to Los Angeles, California to record their first album (which wasn't released until the following year) with Ray McVeigh (The Professionals, Zilch, Wild Crash 500, etc.) as producer (he would also be the producer of their second and third album), but once recording of the album was completed Derek Forbes dropped out of the band and was replaced on bass by Koozie Johns (Jer Koozie) as support member in a few shows from mid 1996 until the end of that year, then he left the band and was replaced by Matt Garrett as official member. In that moment, thanks to the help of Hide, they signed with alternative label Cutting Edge (an Avex sublabel) and the name of the band was changed Oblivion Dust, in September of 1996, being their debut under this name in November of 1996.

In January 1997, they released their first single entitled Sucker. March witnessed the release of their second single Numb. In April the group toured the West Coast of the United States with a series of 10 concerts. In May, they managed to release one more single and in June their first full length album entitled Looking for Elvis. In July, they returned to the West Coast of the United States to play 10 more concerts and Matt Garrett left the band. In September they did their first Japanese tour consisting of a total of 11 shows and 5 extra shows in October.

Early in 2008, Oblivion Dust had a short tour to signify their reformation. Then, they performed on one night of the two-night Hide Memorial Summit on 4 May, alongside X Japan, Luna Sea, and others.

The mid 2008, the band released the single "Girl in Mono / Bed of Roses" and then announced an album for the early 2009.

In early 2009 was announced the album was delayed because the members haven't got enough time due to their sides projects.

NANA KITADE - VIDEOS

2009-01-05T06:40:00.000-08:00

NANA KITADE

Nana Kitade (北出菜奈, Kitade Nana, born May 2, 1987 in Sapporo, Hokkaidō) is a rock and pop singer-songwriter, musician. She is signed on with Sony Music Japan. She is particularly famous for dressing and designing Gothic Lolita fashion, something that many of her fans have in common with her. Many of her songs were used as anime, TV shows, doramas and movie opening/ending/image themes.

Biography

As a child, Kitade wanted to be a singer and or an anime artist. She started learning the piano at the age of three, and wrote her own lyrics at twelve. In junior high school, she became a fan of Ringo Shiina and learned to play the guitar, traveling frequently to Tokyo for singing lessons.

In February 2002 Kitade passed a Sony Music Japan audition and was chosen as the Sapporo area representative and was given the opportunity to debut as a singer.

In March, 2003, the demo which she submitted caught the attention of Susumu Nishikawa, session guitarist and Ringo Shina's sideman at the time of the debut. She signed a deal with SME Records, a subgroup of Sony Music Japan. In August 1 2005 Nana Kitade participated in the Hong Kong Comic Festival 2005.

The Year 2008 found Kitade releasing the singles SUICIDES LOVE STORY (ending theme for the anime series Persona -trinity soul-), Siren (theme song for the Japanese version of the Canadian series Ruby Gloom), which was composed once again for Megadeth's former member Marty Friedman with a fast, funny, metal-rock-pop sound, and PUNK&BABY's, which were all charted lower than #60 on the Oricon chart. On July 23, 2008 a cover of Cyndi Lauper's 1983 hit "She Bop" was featured on We Love Cyndi - Tribute to Cyndi Lauper album, track # 9. In August 2008 Kitade was featured at the 10th anniversary of Animagic Convention in Bonn, Germany.

Recently Kitade's song 月華-tsukihana was featured as the opening theme for the anime series Jigoku Shoujo Mitsuganae by Aniplex which charted at #27 on the oricon chart, her highest in two years. Kitade later released her third full length album, Bondage (album), which debuted at #85 on the oricon weekly charts, higher then her previous releases. On May 5th 2009 it was announced on Kitade's official website that she had to cancel an upcoming live due to poor physical health. It was also announced a month later that she would be taking a break from all activities due to poor physical health, and that details would be posted on her site as soon as she recovers. Information on Kitade's condition is currently unknown.

NANA MIZUKI - VIDEOS

2009-01-05T06:35:00.000-08:00

NANA MIZUKI

Nana Mizuki (水樹奈々, Mizuki Nana, born January 21, 1980), born Nana Kondō (近藤奈々, Kondō Nana), is a singer and voice actress (seiyū) in Japan.

Life and career

Born in Niihama, Ehime, Japan, she began to train enka when she was five years old. In 1993, she released Compact Cassette single "Tsugazakura" (つがざくら, lit. "Phyllodoce Nipponica"?) as "Nana Kondo". However, she eventually became a popular seiyū singer.

Her debut single as Nana Mizuki, "Omoi", was released on December 6, 2000. Her 2004 song "Innocent starter" became her first Top 10 single and her 2005 single "Eternal Blaze" reached #2 position on Japanese Oricon weekly single charts. She won the "Best Musical Performance" award by her song "Justice to Believe" in the first Seiyū Awards in 2007. Her 7th album Ultimate Diamond made her the first seiyu to reach the #1 position during the week of June 15, 2009 in the Oricon weekly album charts since its creation in 1968. Ultimate Diamond sold over 74,000 copies in the first week, outselling the popular hip-hop band, Black Eyed Peas' album, The E.N.D., by over 20,000 copies in Japan.

Many of the characters whom she has voiced were initially very shy/soft-spoken (however, after interactions with other people, they gradually opened up (e.g. Fate, Lili, Nyamo, Hinata, and Wrath), six of her characters have romantic feelings for the main characters (e.g. Oboro from Basilisk, Hinata Hyūga from Naruto, Colette Brunel from Tales of Symphonia, Tamao Tamamura from Shaman King and Moka Akashiya from Rosario + Vampire), some of her characters craved maternal attention (e.g. Fate Testarossa from Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha and its sequels A's and StrikerS, Wrath and Maria), and she was also part of the seiyu quartet "Prits", alongside Yumiko Kobayashi, Natsuko Kuwatani and Hisayo Mochizuki (all four voiced characters in the anime Sister Princess).

NANASE AIKAWA - VIDEOS

2009-01-05T06:31:00.000-08:00

NANASE AIKAWA

Nanase Aikawa (相川七瀬, Aikawa Nanase) (born February 16, 1975) is a Japanese musician known for employing a variety of musical styles, most notably rock. She publishes her music under the Motorod label, a division of Avex Group.

Early life

Nanase Aikawa was born on February 16, 1975, in Osaka, Japan. Throughout her school years, Nanase had sung and participated in a several singing competitions, which brought her to the attention of a well-known music producer Tetsuro Oda.

At the age of 15, she dropped out of school to be trained by Oda. At the age of 20 she released her first single, Yume Miru Shoujo ja Irarenai on 8 November 1995.

NAMIE AMURO - VIDEOS

2009-01-05T06:25:00.000-08:00

NAMIE AMURO

Namie Amuro (安室奈美恵, Amuro Namie, born September 20, 1977) is a Japanese singer, dancer, and former child actor/singer, who, at the height of her popularity, was referred to as the "Teen Queen [of Japan]" and is referred to as the "Queen of Japanese pop music". Born in Naha, Okinawa, Amuro debuted at the age of fourteen as an idol in the girl group Super Monkey's. Though mostly unsuccessful, the group gained popularity during their final year together with the single "Try Me: Watashi o Shinjite" (1995). Amuro left Toshiba-EMI after releasing two more solo singles; she continued her music career as a solo singer with the then-normal independent label Avex Trax. Under the guidance of producer Tetsuya Komuro, Amuro quickly became a commercial success, producing several million-selling records and starting several fashion trends. Her single "Can You Celebrate?" (1997) became Japan's best selling single by a solo female artist. However, in late 1997, Amuro put her career on hold to focus on her pregnancy and engagement.

She returned to music in 1998 with the number-one single, "I Have Never Seen", but faced slowly declining sales. She unofficially severed ties with Tetsuya Komuro in 2001, shortly after taking on the project Suite Chic that would transform her from a pop idol to a R&;B artist. Since reinventing herself, Amuro has achieved newfound interest. Her latest studio album, Play (2007) debuted at the top of the charts and was followed by "60s 70s 80s" (2008), her first number-one single in ten years.

Over a decade since her musical debut, Amuro has remained one of the longest surviving popular female acts in Japan. She is the only Japanese female artist to have achieved a Top 10 single each year for fourteen consecutive years.[4] She also continues to successfully combat social stigma as a divorced, working, single mother. On July 30, 2008, Amuro released her first greatest hits album, Best Fiction, since transitioning to R&B music. It spent six consecutive weeks at the number-one position on the Japan's Oricon weekly charts, and was elected as "the best album of the year" at the 50th Japan Record Awards. Later this year, she is touring Japan in support of the album. Estimates predict that she could play to an audience as high as 400,000, potentially the largest audience of her career.

Biography

Early life and career

Namie Amuro was born in Naha, Okinawa, raised solely by her mother, Emiko Taira, as she had divorced when Amuro was four years old.Taira worked as a nursery school employee and bar hostess to support her four children.Amuro is one quarter Italian.She did not have ambitions to become a performer early in life; she wanted to become a flight attendant. However, at the age of twelve, while visiting a friend, Amuro was discovered by Masayuki Makino, the owner of Okinawa Actors School, a performing arts school.Amuro eventually joined the school; after only two years of study, Makino placed her in an idol group called Super Monkey's [sic] with five other girls. They debuted in September 1992 on Toshiba-EMI. A year later, despite Emiko Taira's disapproval, the group relocated to Tokyo.

The Super Monkey's were largely unsuccessful and constantly changed members. They changed their group name to Namie Amuro with Super Monkeys in 1994 to reflect Amuro's individual rising popularity. Aside from group activities, she had bit parts in television dramas and normal films. "Try Me: Watashi o Shinjite", produced by Italian eurobeat producer Dave Rodgers and Max Matsuura, was released on January 25, 1995, peaking at the number-eight position and charting for 25 weeks on the Oricon chart.The other four members of the Super Monkey's formed their own group, MAX, under the Avex Trax label. Amuro released two more solo singles under Toshiba-EMI before moving to Avex Trax herself.

NAMI TAMAKI - VIDEOS

2009-01-05T06:20:00.000-08:00

NAMI TAMAKI

Nami Tamaki (玉置成実, Tamaki Nami, born June 1, 1988) is a Japanese pop singer, known for her young age and her powerful dancing. Her career took off when she was selected out of 5,000 in a Sony Music Japan Audition in 2003, singing and dancing to Destiny's Child's "Survivor". She has various commercial tie-ins with the Japanese anime and games industry, and has also performed in a stage musical and a movie. Her musical influences include American singers such as Britney Spears, Madonna, and Janet Jackson.

Career

Nami auditioned for Sony Music Japan in 2001 when she was fourteen years old. The audition took place between 2001-2002 when she performed cover songs of Destiny Child hit "Survivor" and CORE OF SOUL "FULL MOON PRAYER." She was selected out of 1,000 applicants and would soon start her career in 2003 with her debut single Believe. Her first U.S. concert performance was opening for T.M.Revolution at the Pacific Media Expo 2004.

She graduated from high school in March 2007; her first Best (Greatest Hits) Album was released on November 29, 2006 to mark the event, and she started acting and stage performances in full speed after her graduation. The first event after her graduation was her first concert tour: Nami Tamaki Best Concert “My Graduation” on the 11th, 17th, 23rd and 31st of March 2007 at various places in Japan.

In 2008 Nami released her 4th Studio Album entitled "Don't Stay". The album contained songs from her singles Brightdown, Cross Season and Winter Ballades as well as some new tracks. The album did not chart or sell as well as her previous albums. Nami held a special live tour "Anniversary Live 5" Which took place in Tokyo and Osaka. Her 6th concert Don't Stay~GO!!~ has finished and she moves onto her work with Universal-Japan.

MIHO HATORI - VIDEOS

2009-01-05T06:15:00.000-08:00

MIHO HATORI

Miho Hatori (羽鳥美保, Hatori Miho, b. ; Tokyo, Japan) is a singer, songwriter, and musician. She is primarily known as the vocalist of the New York City group Cibo Matto.

Biography

Miho expressed an early interest in music while growing up in Japan. She worked in a record shop where she was exposed to many different styles of music, and sometimes performed as a club DJ. Miho moved to the United States, New York circa 1993 to study art. The first New York band she was in was a punk band called Leitoh Lychee for which she provided the vocals, and also played violin through a distortion effects pedal.

It was as a member of Leitoh Lychee where she first met her Cibo Matto co-founder Yuka Honda in 1994. Cibo Matto went on to release two albums, Viva! La Woman in 1996 and Stereo Type A in 1999. She also contributed vocals to Cibo Matto band-mate Sean Lennon's solo album, Into the Sun in 1998. Cibo Matto has since broken up.

While Cibo Matto was touring with Beck, Miho and Beck guitarist Smokey Hormel discovered a shared love of bossa nova and samba, which eventually resulted in their Brazilian-styled musical project Smokey ; Miho. Other artists she has worked with include Handsome Boy Modeling School, Stephin Merritt's The 6ths, The Baldwin Brothers, The Beastie Boys, Blackalicious, Peter Daily, Greg Kurstin (Action Figure Party), Forró in the Dark, John Zorn, and The Incredible Moses Leroy. Miho has also performed solo and on October 21, 2005 her first solo album, Ecdysis was released in Japan. Ecdysis has recently as of October 24, 2006 been released in the United States ; Europe as well. She appeared in Jet Set Radio Future for the Xbox as a main character and model for a group of women-only skaters. Birthday Cake from the first Cibo Matto album was also used in the game. She also provided the singing voice of Noodle for Gorillaz's debut album also titled Gorillaz. This is most notable on the song 19/2000.

On her blog it states that she is "Currently working on 2nd Solo album and something joyfu.

MAMI KAWADA - VIDEOS

2009-01-04T14:38:00.000-08:00

MAMI KAWADA

Mami Kawada (川田まみ, Kawada Mami) is a J-pop singer who is currently signed to Geneon Entertainment Inc. She is also a member of the I've Sound who performs soundtracks for some eroge. Mami was usually paired up with co-I've member Kotoko when making soundtracks for anime. Examples of these are Onegai Teacher, Onegai Twins, Starship Operators, Shakugan no Shana, Baldr Force EXE Resolution OVA, and Hayate no Gotoku wherein Kotoko will perform the opening theme while Mami will perform the ending theme or vice versa. Her debut single "Radiance" which was released on February 23, 2005 was used as an opening theme for the anime Starship Operators. Her most successful single was "Joint", which was released on October 31, 2007 and used as the first opening theme for the sequel of the anime series Shakugan no Shana.

History

2008–present

After a year of not releasing a single, Mami Kawada had another tie-up with another anime series entitled To Aru Majutsu no Index and performed its two opening themes entitled "PSI-Missing" as its first opening theme and "Masterpiece" as the second opening theme. Both of their coupling songs ("Ame" (雨?) and "Jellyfish" respectively) were also used as insert songs in the same anime series.

In autumn 2008, Mami Kawada also established her official website together with her official fan club entitled "M.A.L.L." which stands for "Mami Artist Lasting Live".

In June 2009, Kawada released her 8th single "L'Oiseau bleu" which means "Blue Bird" in English. This single is also present in the I've Sound 10th Anniversary 「Departed to the future」 Special CD BOX which was released earlier by their group last March 25, 2009.

MORNING MUSUME - VIDEOS

2009-01-04T14:35:00.000-08:00

MORNING MUSUME

Morning Musume (モーニング娘。, Mōningu Musume.) is a Japanese girl group, whose act generally revolves around singing and dancing to upbeat melodies. Sometimes referred to as Momusu (モー娘。, Mōmusu.?), they are the lead group of Hello! Project, which is masterminded by Naoki Yamazaki and managed by producer Tsunku, who composes nearly all the lyrics and melodies of their songs. Currently, they hold the record of having the highest overall single sales (of a female group) on the Oricon charts.

Musume (娘), in this context, means girl. The group is known for ever fluctuating line-up, with "graduations" and auditions held nearly every year. 2008 was the only year so far when no changes in the line-up occurred. Over the years, the group produced several splinter groups, and often worked with other Hello! Project acts, including Country Musume, Berryz Kobo, Melon Kinenbi, and v-u-den.

Since their expansion into the Chinese market in 2007, the group officially adopted the name Jou An Sao Nu Jou (Zǎo Ān Shǎo Nǚ Zǔ, Traditional Chinese:早安少女組, meaning, "good morning girl's group").

History

Japanese producer Tsunku started the group in 1997 through an audition for a female rock vocalist for his band Sharan Q. The audition was held on the Japanese TV show Asayan. The winner was Heike Michiyo, later to become a soloist under what would eventually become known as Hello! Project. Tsunku decided to form a girl group consisting of five of the runners-up: Yuko Nakazawa, Natsumi Abe, Kaori Iida, Asuka Fukuda, and Aya Ishiguro. They were issued a challenge to sell 50,000 copies of their demo single, "Ai no Tane," with just five days of promotion events. They managed the feat in four promotion days (spread out over November, 1997) in a very grassroots manner, and Tsunku began his mission to create the most famous all-girl group in Japan.

MINAMI KURIBAYASHI - VIDEOS

2009-01-04T14:31:00.000-08:00

MINAMI KURIBAYASHI

Minami Kuribayashi (栗林みな実, Kuribayashi Minami?, born June 11, 1976) is a Japanese singer-songwriter and voice actress (seiyū) from Shizuoka prefecture. Her bloodtype is AB, and her nickname is Kurinoko (栗の子).

Her involvement in the game and anime Kimi ga Nozomu Eien, where she voiced the role of one of the characters, Haruka Suzumiya and performed and penned the theme songs and other songs relating to the series, has brought her much attention. Her single "Precious Memories", used as the opening theme song for the series' animated version was a success; it had a peak ranking of 17th place on the Oricon charts and charted for 13 weeks.[1] She has since performed songs for other games and anime, including series such as Muv-Luv, Chrono Crusade, My-HiME, My-Otome, Kure-nai, and School Days.

Kuribayashi has performed as part of the group Wild 3nin Musume, whose other present members are Joy Max (a.k.a. Joy Max Maximum) and Kisho Taniyama (a.k.a. Jackie Yang). She also once paired with Chiaki Takahashi to form the group exige, where Takahashi was known as CT. Veronica.

MIKUNI SHIMOKAWA - VIDEOS

2009-01-04T14:26:00.000-08:00

MIKUNI SHIMOKAWA

Mikuni Shimokawa (下川みくに, Shimokawa Mikuni) (born 19 March 1980 in Shizunai, Hokkaido, Japan) is a J-pop singer and songwriter. She is best known for her songs used for anime theme music, particularly the opening and ending themes of the Full Metal Panic! series. In addition to her vocal talents, Shimokawa can also play the piano. She is a former member of the girl group Checkicco.

MINORI CHIHARA - VIDEOS

2009-01-04T14:21:00.000-08:00

MINORI CHIHARA

Minori Chihara (茅原実里, Chihara Minori, born November 18, 1980) is a seiyū who has had roles in several anime series, and a J-pop singer. As a seiyū, she works under the agency Avex Planning & Development while in her musical career, she has been signed under King Records, Avex Trax, and is now currently with Lantis. She was born in the city of Utsunomiya, Tochigi and was raised in Saitama. Her blood type is B, and is the middle child of three siblings consisting of an older sister and younger brother.

She is affectionately referred to as "Minorin" (みのりん) by her fans.

Personal

* While auditioning for her role in Ikki Tousen: Dragon Destiny, she sought help from her guitar teacher to learn how to better speak the kansai dialect required for her character.
* The release of Junpaku Sanctuary not only ended her singing hiatus (outside of anime) since the release of HEROINE, but also prompted the start of her "Re:Birth tour."[15]
* Although her role as Yuki Nagato in The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya propelled her popularity, long-time fans have seen her perform with her guitar on the streets of Akihabara. According to her blog, the last time she performed this way was on April 9, 2006.
* One of her hobbies includes playing her acoustic guitar, which she named "Go-kun" (ゴー君).
* She is good at playing catch, as her father was a baseball coach, and she was a center fielder for her junior high school team. She wanted to play as an outfielder by any means, because she feared the danger presented to infielders from high-velocity, low-batted balls. She was also attracted to the charm of being able to catch fly balls. Coincidentally, her character Yuki Nagato in The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya also played center in the episode "The Boredom of Haruhi Suzumiya."
* She is a lover of Tirol-Choco candy (especially the kinako-covered mochi kind). Her favorite types of food include salmon, squash, avocados, and shrimp. She likes to post news items about shrimp-related cuisine on her blog.
* She is a big fan of Yutaka Ozaki and collected many of his albums before his untimely death. She also enjoys the group B'z, as they have often become the topic of her blog. Additionally, she admits to having belonged to a fan club of Hiroshi Inaba. She is also a fan of Miyuki Nakajima.
* Although admittedly not good at cooking, she is proud of her curry.

MEGUMI HAYASHIBARA - VIDEOS

2009-01-04T14:14:00.000-08:00

MEGUMI HAYASHIBARA

Megumi Hayashibara (林原めぐみ, Hayashibara Megumi) (born March 30, 1967) is a Japanese seiyū, singer, radio personality and lyricist from Tokyo. She is currently affiliated with Aksent. Her nicknames include "Megu-san", "Megu-nee", "Bara-san", "Kakka" and "Daijin". She is most known for her roles in Ranma ½ (as Ranma Saotome), Neon Genesis Evangelion (as Rei Ayanami), Cowboy Bebop (as Faye Valentine), Slayers (as Lina Inverse), Detective Conan (as Ai Haibara), Pokémon (as Musashi/Jessie of Team Rocket) and Shaman King (as Anna Kyoyama). Hayashibara is also a registered nurse.

Biography

Megumi Hayashibara was born on March 30, 1967 in Tokyo, Japan.

Hayashibara studied at a Catholic school, and at one point was bullied in fifth grade. She was an active club member and participated in the Badminton, Biology, Broadcasting, Drama and English clubs. She played the role of Alice in an English language production of Alice in Wonderland.

Despite qualifying as a nurse, she has never been employed in a nursing position.

On January 10, 2004, she announced on her radio show that she was pregnant with her first child. In June of the same year, she gave birth to a daughter.

Voice acting

On the same day as submitting the application for nursing school, she went to a book store and found an advert offering free anime voice acting auditions at Arts Vision. Several months after submitting a demo tape, she received a confirmation of passing the first stage of the audition, and eventually decided to continue training as a nurse while doing voice acting. After a year of voice actor training, Hayashibara was chosen to voice normal roles on Maison Ikkoku. Initially, she had difficulty with her lines and had to redo many lines after the main recording sessions.

Hayashibara later auditioned for Ranma ½ expecting to be cast as Akane Tendo, but was cast as the female half of Ranma Saotome instead.

In 1993 and 1995, Hayashibara was a guest at Anime America. At the 1995 event, she decided to give a speech in English after believing the translation at the 1993 event did not reflect what she had said.

In 1995, Hayashibara provided the voice of Rei Ayanami in Neon Genesis Evangelion, a role referred to as "innovative casting".

MASAMI OKUI - VIDEOS

2009-01-04T14:10:00.000-08:00

MASAMI OKUI

Masami Okui (奥井雅美, Okui Masami), born March 13, 1968, is a J-Rock/J-Pop singer who was born in Itami, Hyōgo Prefecture. She began her professional musical career at age 21 as a concert backup singer.

From almost the very beginning of her career, Masami has sung themes for anime tv and movies. She is especially well known for her songs from Revolutionary Girl Utena, Slayers, Sorcerer Hunters, Di Gi Charat, Magic User's Club, Jungle de Ikou, Akihabara Dennou Gumi, Ray the Animation, He Is My Master and Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters. She has performed material for more than 50 singles and 20 albums to date (including her work with JAM Project and Chihiro Yonekura).

Okui currently hosts @Tunes, an anime music news program, on the Japanese anime television network Animax.

History

* 1989, November - Her musical career began. She started as a concert backup singer for Yuki Saito

* 1993, released her first single "Dare Yori mo Zutto". This was for the anime OAV The Girl from Phantasia

* 1995, sang together with Megumi Hayashibara for TV anime Slayers. The two artists have become best friends since.

* 2003 - she teamed up with fellow artist Chihiro Yonekura to form the group r.o.r/s (an acronym for "Reflections of Renaissance/Sounds.)

* 2003 - Debuted as a member of the supergroup JAM Project with the single: "Little Wing". This song became the opening title track for the noted anime series Scrapped Princess.

* 2003 - Became the music producer of her own record label, evolution.

MAAYA SAKAMOTO - VIDEOS

2009-01-04T14:01:00.000-08:00

MAAYA SAKAMOTO

Maaya Sakamoto (坂本真綾, Sakamoto Maaya, born March 31, 1980 in Itabashi, Tokyo) is a Japanese seiyū and singer who made her debut in 1996 as the voice of Hitomi Kanzaki in the hit anime series The Vision of Escaflowne. She sings songs in both Japanese and English.

She is set to voice Alphard, alongside Miyuki Sawashiro who voices the titular character in the anime Canaan. She also does the voice of Padmé Amidala in the Japanese dub of Star Wars Episodes I, II, and III. She reprised the role in the current ongoing American 3D CGI animated television series, Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

Her latest single Ame ga Furu was released on October 29, 2008

About

Maaya is a graduate from Toyo University (Bachelor in Sociology). Her favorite colors are pink and brown, while her hobbies are performing, reading and singing.[citation needed] Her blood type is A.

She was one half of the seiyū duo "Whoops!!", alongside Chieko Higuchi. She has been called お姉さま(Onee-sama), a respectful way of saying "older sister" by her Ouran co-host Ayaka Saitō.

Nothing much is known about her family except that her father, Yoshimi Sakamoto, is an expert in stage lighting. When she was at AnimeFest in 2005, she said that her favorite Western bands are Oasis and Maroon 5. She also has had at least one song, that appeared on the NHK program, Minna no Uta.

MAKI GOTO - VIDEOS

2009-01-04T13:55:00.000-08:00

MAKI GOTO

Maki Goto (後藤真希, Gotō Maki, born September 23, 1985 in Edogawa, Tokyo, Japan) is a J-pop singer currently signed to the sublabel Rhythm Zone under the Avex Trax label. Before joining Avex, she was a soloist of Hello! Project and member of Morning Musume. She has performed in numerous Hello! Project subgroups such as Petitmoni, Akagumi 4, 7-nin Matsuri, Sexy 8, Gomattou and Nochiura Natsumi.

Early in Summer 2008, Goto signed up with Rhythm Zone, the renowned management company of other artists like EXILE and Koda Kumi, and started to release under Avex.

Biography

Success in Hello! Project

In 1999, Maki Goto was selected as the only member for the 3rd generation of Morning Musume. Their first single after Goto joined, "Love Machine" sold over a million copies, over nine times the amount of copies they had sold for their previous single. During her time in Morning Musume she was one of the founding members of Petitmoni and she started a solo singing career in 2001 with the single "Ai no Bakayarō" (愛のバカやろう?). Until her graduation from Morning Musume she was one of the leading vocalists in most of the songs released. Post-graduation she has mostly concentrated on her solo career and occasionally on limited time Hello! Project units such as Gomattou, Nochiura Natsumi, and DEF.DIVA. As time has passed, she has increasingly concentrated on acting in addition to singing. She has also performed at the Asia song festival 2005 in Pusan, Korea to represent Japan.

In early 2007, Goto was chosen to be a member of Morning Musume Tanjō 10 Nen Kinentai—a unit created to celebrate Morning Musume's 10th anniversary as a group. Morning Musume Tanjō 10 Nen Kinentai also consists of Natsumi Abe, Kaori Iida, Risa Niigaki and Koharu Kusumi. Their single, "Bokura ga Ikiru My Asia", was released on January 24, 2007.

Her seventeenth single, "Secret" (シークレット?), was released on April 11, 2007. On September 19, 2007, Goto's fourth original album How to Use Sexy was released.

On October 20, 2007, Goto's younger brother and former member of EE Jump idol group Yūki Goto (祐樹) was arrested on the grounds he and two accomplices, aged 18 and 19, had broken into a construction site in Edogawa, Tokyo on July 15, 2007 and made off with 80 reels of electric cable worth approximately 1 million yen. According to Flash magazine, Goto and one of her brother's accomplices had been romantically involved for some time, after the two met at Yūki's wedding in 2005. Due to the circumstances surrounding the robbery scandal, they haven't been in contact with each other.

On October 28, 2007, during the last concert of her G-EmotionII ~How to Use Sexy~ tour, Goto suddenly announced to fans that she would be graduating from Hello! Project, though she was also leaving UpFront Agency completely. Her graduation was said to be that she was overworked and overly stressed, causing her health problems. She also had different ideas of the direction of her career than what her agency had planned. Because of her graduation, she would not be able to participate in the Hello! Project 2008 Winter concert tour, previously said to be because of "scheduling conflicts".

Goto's official blog reopened on March 25, 2008. Over the course of several entries, she revealed that she was in Los Angeles, California, taking singing and dancing lessons. In mid-June, rumours were confirmed that Goto signed under the label Rhythm Zone, an Avex Trax sublabel.

LUNKHEAD - VIDEOS

2009-01-04T13:50:00.000-08:00

LUNKHEAD

Lunkhead (ランクヘッド) is a Japanese rock band signed under Victor Entertainment and is managed by Chockyu co. ltd. The band played its first show during their high school graduation ceremomy in 1999.

LUNKHEAD officially became a band when all four members reunited in Tokyo in 2000.

On 2 February 2009, drummer Ishikawa Ryou announced on the band's official website of his departure from the band in April 2009.

L’ARC~EN~CIEL - VIDEOS

2009-01-04T13:44:00.000-08:00

L'ARC-EN-CIEL

L'Arc~en~Ciel (ラルクアンシエル, Raruku an Shieru, "The Rainbow" in French) is a Japanese rock band, that formed in 1991. The group has sold over 13 million albums, 16 million singles, and millions of other units, such as videos. They were ranked at number 58, in a list of Japan's top 100 pop musicians, provided by HMV in 2003.

2006–2008: 15th anniversary and Europe concert debut

On November 25 and 26, 2006, L'Arc~en~Ciel played two shows at the Tokyo Dome to celebrate their 15th anniversary, entitled L'Anniversary. It sold out in two minutes, breaking their former record. A poll was created on the official website during the weeks before the concert which allowed fans to pick which songs they would like to hear at the event. The concert was later shown on the WOWOW channel on December 23, 2006. It was also broadcast on February 8, 2007 on Korea MTV.

L'Arc~en~Ciel later recorded the song "Shine" to be used as the opening song for the NHK anime, Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit. They kicked-off their Mata Heart Ni Hi Wo Tsukero 2007 tour in Japan. L'Arc~en~Ciel released the single "Seventh Heaven" on May 30, 2007, which topped the Oricon charts. The song "My Heart Draws a Dream", used in a Subaru commercial, was released as a single on August 29, 2007, and made the #1 spot on the Oricon charts. The song "Daybreak's Bell" was used as the first opening theme for the anime Mobile Suit Gundam 00. It was released as a single on October 10, 2007, topping the Oricon weekly charts as well. From November 14 to December 25, 2007, there was a limited edition single titled "Hurry Xmas", along with two new DVDs coming out in September and December, titled 15th L'Anniversary Live and Chronicle 3 respectively. Their new studio album Kiss, released on November 21, 2007, debuted at the number-one position on the Oricon charts.

L'Arc~en~Ciel performed the Theater of Kiss tour, which was held from December 22, 2007 to February 17, 2008. The song "Drink It Down", used as the Japanese opening song for the PS3/Xbox360 game Devil May Cry 4, was released as a single on April 2, 2008, and topped the Oricon weekly charts. The band went on the Tour 2008 L'7 ~Trans Asia via Paris~ which covered several major Asian cities, as well as Paris, France. On this tour a definite live show hiatus until 2011 was announced. L'Arc~en~Ciel media continued to be released, a double A-side single, "Nexus 4 / Shine" and a DVD, Tour 2007-2008 Theater of Kiss were released on August 27, 2008. Hyde and K.A.Z formed rock duo Vamps and released their first album Vamps on June 10, 2009.

KUMI KODA - VIDEOS

2009-01-04T13:30:00.000-08:00

KUMI KODA

Kumiko Koda (神田來未子, Kōda Kumiko) (born November 13, 1982), better known by her stage name Kumi Koda (倖田來未, Kōda Kumi?), is a Japanese singer and songwriter from Kyoto, known for her Urban and R&B songs. Having debuted in 2000 with the single "Take Back", Koda gained fame for her seventh single, "Real Emotion / 1000 no Kotoba", the songs of which were used as themes for the video game Final Fantasy X-2. Her popularity grew with the release of her fourth studio album Secret (2005), her sixteenth single "Butterfly" (2005), and her first greatest hits album Best: First Things (2005), reaching the number-three, number-two and number-one spot respectively.

Though her early releases presented a conservative, quiet image, since as early as 2003 Koda has adopted a sexier and more provocative style.[6] Because of this image, she has become a fashion leader among young women, setting trends such as the ero-kakkoii style. She has also won many fashion awards such as, the "Best Jeanist Award" and the title of "Nail Queen" three times since 2006. Since the rise in her popularity, Koda has lent her face and songs to many advertisements. In 2006 and 2007, Oricon awarded with Koda the title of best-selling artist.

On January 31, 2008, a day after the release of her sixth studio album, Kingdom, Koda became the center of controversy when she made a comment on Japanese radio show, All Night Nippon.

Early life and music interest

Koda was born into a family of musicians. Her grandfather was a Shakuhachi master and her mother was a Koto teacher. From a young age, Koda decided she wanted to become a singer after watching her mother perform in karaoke bars. During her second year of high school Koda auditioned in Avex’s "Dream Audition", where she came in second out of 120,000 participants. She was then signed onto the Avex sub-label Rhythm Zone. She is also the older sister of Misono, current solo artist and former lead singer of Day After Tomorrow.

KOKIA - VIDEOS

2009-01-04T13:23:00.000-08:00

KOKIA

Kokia (コキア) is a Japanese singer-songwriter from Tokyo. She is known mostly for her performances in video game and anime soundtracks; having appeared in eight different game/anime soundtracks to date. Kokia is also known for her vocal range, and ability to hold long-tone opera notes, having done so for 29 seconds during a television appearance. She is most well-known in Hong Kong and Taiwan for her song "Arigatou...", which achieved commercial success, and was covered by star Sammi Cheng. Her biggest hit in Japan is the single "The Power of Smile / Remember the Kiss", which reached number 15 on the Oricon charts.

Information

Pre-debut - Pony Canyon

Kokia studied Opera and classical music while in University. During her time there, she caught the eye of a scouter from Pony Canyon, and in 1998 while still at University debuted with the single "Aishiteiru Kara" under the stage name "Kokia". This stage name that she created for herself was both her first name reversed (A-Ki-Ko -> Ko-Ki-A), as well as the name of a Hawaiian Hibiscus flower, which blooms during her birthday. "Aishiteiru Kara" and its B-side, "You", were used as insert songs for the Fuji TV drama, Brothers. However, this single was not her first release into the Japanese market, as two weeks prior the Tail Concerto OST had been released. The soundtrack contained "For Little Tail", the opening theme for the game, which Kokia had sung. Kokia's next release was a song called "Ai no Rinkaku", which was used as the ending theme song for the anime, Brain Powerd (the song was composed by the well-known composer, Yoko Kanno). Kokia followed up this single six months later with her second single, "Tears in Love".

Kokia's next single, "Arigatou...", was the first song that she had fully written and composed herself. It was used as the theme song for the TBD drama, Dotsuzen Oyako. While this did not propel her to stardom in Japan, Kokia became extremely famous in Hong Kong and Taiwan. "Arigatou..." won her the third place prize in the Hong Kong International Popular Music Awards. Popular Cantonese singer, Sammi Cheng, even recorded a Cantonese language cover of the song. This was followed up with Kokia's debut album, Songbird.

KOTOKO - VIDEOS

2009-01-04T13:19:00.000-08:00

KOTOKO

Kotoko (コトコ) is a female J-pop singer who has released five albums (three associated with Geneon and two associated with I've Sound), twelve maxi singles (seventeen overall) and two DVD that are scheduled for a US Domestic release. She also composes and writes lyrics (for herself as well as other singers in I've Sound) for numerous other song collections. She frequently works with the producers I've Sound, and has contributed songs to numerous anime and video games including Onegai Teacher, Mahou Shoujo Tai Arusu, Onegai Twins, Ren'ai CHU!, Maria-sama ga Miteru, Hayate the Combat Butler, Colorful Kiss, Kannazuki no Miko, Starship Operators, Shakugan no Shana, and BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger.

Biography

Kotoko was born in Sapporo, Japan From elementary school, she believed her career would be influenced by her voice and tried to involve herself in as many auditions as possible. In addition to regular education Kotoko attended courses at the music school Haura where she polished her musical talents.

She became a professional singer in 1999. Her first successful audition was with I've Sound, a team of producers using the talents of various female vocalists for their productions—best recognized for their many dating sim and eroge game soundtracks. Since then, Kotoko has performed opening and ending themes for a few anime and has gained significant recognition from her two I've Sound-related album releases. Her second album, Glass no Kaze, released in June 2005 has been praised within multiple online communities. On October 13, 2005, she released her fourth maxi single, which featured a song from her Glass no Kaze album, "421 -a will-" and its B-side song called "Shuusou" (秋爽, The Refreshing Autumn Breeze), which is featured in her third album, Uzu-Maki.

Although not listed on her official Geneon website, Kotoko has actually released four albums. Her very first album was called, Sora o Tobetara, which was released in 2000. Many of the tracks on this album were later re-recorded for her first I've Sound album, Hane (羽 -hane-, Feather?), and was attributed as her first album. Her first I've Sound CD appearance was on the CD "Dear Feeling" (only released at "Comic Market 59".) with previous singer Aki. She then appeared on I've Girls Compilation Album Vol.3 "Disintegration", a series of albums with various songs from the I've Sound singers.

Kotoko's first official performance in North America was her highly successful American concert debut at Anime Expo 2005, followed soon after by the Kotoko Lax Tour. Now that her self-composed hybrid of pop and techno beats—sometimes pop—have crossed the Pacific, Kotoko's lyrics have elevated her presence among thousands of North American J-Pop/anime fans.

KIRORO - VIDEOS

2009-01-04T13:12:00.000-08:00

KIRORO

Kiroro (キロロ) is a Japanese musical group from Okinawa that debuted in 1996.

History

Kiroro first debuted in 1996 as an independent band, and later made their major debut in 1998 with the song "Nagai Aida (長い間)". They performed on Kōhaku Uta Gassen in 1998, 1999 and 2001.

In January 2005, vocalist Chiharu Tamashiro announced that she was engaged. On April 17 (which coincided with her birthday), she and her fiancé entered the family registry. In May, pianist Ayano Kinjo announced her pregnancy and marriage. In July, Tamashiro announced her pregnancy. In September 2005, they held their "four person concert" in Okinawa with the finale, Wasurenaide ("Don't Forget") before their maternal leave. Kinjo gave birth to a baby girl in November 2005. Tamashiro gave birth to a baby boy in February 2006. In March 2007, Tamashiro announced her second pregnancy.

KEN HIRAI - VIDEOS

2009-01-04T13:07:00.000-08:00

KEN HIRAI

Ken Hirai (平井堅, Hirai Ken, born on January 17, 1972) is a Japanese R&;B and pop singer. His soulful voice and unconventional looks won him fans following his debut in 1992. Since his debut, Hirai has worked as a model, actor, composer, lyricist, singer, spokesperson.

During his career, Hirai has sold close to 14 million copies of his albums and singles. His Oricon achievements include a #1 Yearly 2004 (for a single) and one #1 Yearly 2006 (for an album)

Early life

Born January 17, 1972 in Higashiosaka, Osaka prefecture, Ken Hirai grew up in Nabari, Mie Prefecture.

He began his music career back in 1993 when he signed with Sony Music following an audition in Yokohama the previous year while he was a student. His debut single "Precious Junk" and album were recorded the following year and released in 1995. The first single, used as the theme to a TV drama, immediately garnered Hirai attention and his second single, "Katahou Zutsu no Earphone"「片方ずつのイヤホン」also used for a drama, further capitalized on his unique sound. Hirai's debut album, "un-balanced", went on sale the same year and was followed by a second, "Stare At", in December of the following year.

IKIMONO GAKARI - VIDEOS

2009-01-04T13:02:00.000-08:00

IKIMONO-GAKARI

Ikimono-gakari (いきものがかり) is a Japanese rock band. They record on Sony Music Japan's Epic Records label.

The band was formed in Kanagawa Prefecture in February 1999 by Hotaka Yamashita and Yoshiki Mizuno, and was later joined by lead vocalist Kiyoe Yoshioka in December the same year.

Members

* Hotaka Yamashita (山下穂尊, Yamashita Hotaka, born August 27, 1982) is from Ebina, Kanagawa Prefecture. He is a graduate of Atsugi High School and the Faculty of Social Sciences, Hosei University. He plays the guitar and harmonica, and has written lyrics and melodies to some of the band's songs. His nicknames are Hotchi and Yama-chan.
* Yoshiki Mizuno (水野良樹, Mizuno Yoshiki?, born December 17, 1982) is from Ebina, Kanagawa Prefecture. He is a graduate of Atsugi High School and the Faculty of Social Sciences, Hitotsubashi University. He is the leader of the band, and plays the guitar and vocals. He has also written lyrics and melodies to some of the band's songs. His nickname is Yotchan.
* Kiyoe Yoshioka (吉岡聖恵, Yoshioka Kiyoe?, born February 29, 1984) is from Atsugi, Kanagawa Prefecture. Her parents are farmers. She is a graduate of Ebina High School and the Showa Academia Musicae Junior College. She is the band's lead vocalist, and has written lyrics to some of the band's songs. Her older brother was a classmate of both Hotaka and Yoshiki at high school. Her nicknames are Yosshie, Kiyoe-chan and Kiyorasu (by Shouko Nakagawa). She joined the band in high school when she suddenly saw Yamashita and Mizuno singing in front of the train station. She used to belong to a children theatrical company.

HOME MADE KAZOKU - VIDEOS

2009-01-04T12:58:00.000-08:00

HOME MADE KAZOKU

Home Made Kazoku (HOME MADE 家族, translated in English as Home Made Family) is a Japanese hip hop trio signed to Ki/oon Records, a subsidiary of Sony Records.

Biography

Home Made Kazoku is a three member band consisting of members Micro, Kuro and founding member, DJ U-Ichi. The band was originally created in 1996 under a different name and went through many members before finally settling on being a trio with the name Home Made Kazoku in 2001. From 2001 to 2003, the band performed independently in various Nagoya nightclubs. In early 2004, the band was chosen to be part of a country-wide tour known as the Japan Club Tour. During the tour, the trio gained many fans from their club performances as well as finally being signed to a major label, Ki/oon Records.

Shortly after being signed, the group released a mini-album containing the song "Home Sweet Home (Reborn)". The song became wildly popular and went on to become one of the most requested songs of Japanese radio stations for the year. In July of the same year, their first single, Summer Time Magic, was released and sat at a comfortable 15th on the Oricon charts for nearly 10 weeks. After a series of singles, including Thank You!!, which was used as the second ending theme to the popular anime Bleach and Shōnen Heart, which was used as an opening theme to the anime Eureka Seven, the band's first full length album was released. "Rock the World" entered the Oricon charts and peaked at 5th in its first week. It would stay in the top 20 for the next two months and end up selling 191,744 copies as well as becoming the 78th best selling album of 2005, a sign of the band's new found popularity.

After their first album, the group went on a series of tours and released a string of singles as well as their second and third albums, "Musication" and "Familia". Of special note, tickets to their second tour were sold out within the span of one hour, a record in Japanese music. In January 2007, it was announced that they would perform the first ending theme to the anime Naruto: Shippūden entitled Nagareboshi Shooting Star which entered the Oricon charts at 10th place. One of the group, Micro, was featured on the Abingdon Boys School song "Lost Reason" as it appeared on their self-titled album. Home Made Kazoku has performed for a promotional commercial for a product called "Walky Walky" with their song "Easy Walk". In addition, Home Made Kazoku's single, No Rain No Rainbow, is the movie theme for the second Naruto Shippūden movie.

HINOI TEAM - VIDEOS

2009-01-04T12:51:00.000-08:00

HINOI TEAM

Hinoi Team (HINOIチーム, Hinoi Chīmu) is a female J-pop group formed around Asuka Hinoi with supporting members Keika Matsuoka, Hikaru Koyama, and Rina Takenaka. Most of their releases are covers of Eurobeat songs.

Singles

Ike Ike

The Hinoi team's debut "Ike Ike" went on sale on May 18, 2005 in Japan. The song was written by Claudio Accatino, Federico Rimonti and Roberto Festari, and originally performed by Tri-Star,[1] but the Hinoi team's version had new Japanese lyrics written by Kenko-P. The beats were derived from the song "We Like to Party" by the Vengaboys.[citation needed] The single also features the song "Sing Na Na Na" as well as an extended version of Ike Ike and instrumental versions for both Ike Ike and Sing Na Na Na. The DVD version has a PV, Para Para video & off-shot video for Ike Ike. "Ike Ike" was also used as the ending theme for the anime Ichigo 100% and as the ending during the month of April[when] for the Chukyo TV. Broadcasting show Sarudie.

HITOMI SHIMATANI - VIDEOS

2009-01-04T12:44:00.000-08:00

HITOMI SHIMATANI

Hitomi Shimatani (島谷ひとみ, Shimatani Hitomi, born September 4, 1980 in Kure, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan), is a female J-pop singer signed to the Avex Trax label.

Shimatani started her career as an Enka singer with the release of her debut single "Ōsaka no Onna" (大阪の女, Ōsakan Woman) in 1999, but later decided to get into the dance/pop style for her music. Shimatani's music has also appeared in video games and also anime series.

Biography

Early life

Hitomi Shimatani's childhood dream, like many others, was to become a famous singer. At the age of seventeen, when she was still in high school, Shimatani decided to pursue this goal and attended "The Japan Audition 1997" hosted by the music label avex trax. Hitomi was chosen out of around 200,000 other girls who participated and received a recording contract with avex. However, before starting her music career, she wished to finish high school -- to which avex agreed, but with the stipulation that Shimatani attend vocal lessons at the same time. She agreed. She also liked playing tennis when she was young.

After having finished school and feeling ready to her first step as a young singer, in 1999 Hitomi released her first single called "Ōsaka no onna" (大阪の女, Woman Of Osaka?), an enka song. Although the single received much critical acclaim and even won some awards, it sold rather poorly, causing either Shimatani, avex, or both to decide that "Ōsaka no onna" was to be both the beginning and the end of Shimatani's enka career. She started to record more songs and in 2000 she released her second single, "Kaihōku" (解放区, liberated district?), which was drastically different, stylistically, than her previous with its extremely pop leanings.

Before she started her pop career, a single titled "涙くんさよなら" (Namida-kun Sayonara) was released under the name Blue-eye Land.

HIKARU UTADA - VIDEOS

2009-01-04T12:38:00.000-08:00

HIKARU UTADA

Hikaru Utada (宇多田ヒカル Utada Hikaru), better known by her stage name Utada (English pronunciation: /ˈuːtədə/) in America and Europe, and also known by her fans as Hikki (ヒッキー, Hikkī), is a Japanese American singer-songwriter, arranger, and record producer.

Before her major debut with her album First Love (1999), she sold several records with mediocre success. After First Love's release, which went on to become the best-selling album in Oricon's recent history,Utada would go on to have three of her Japanese studio albums rank in Top 10 best-selling albums ever in Japan (#1, #4, #8) and an overall six of her albums, two English-language and one compilation, thus far in her career charting within the 275 Best-Selling Japanese albums list.

Utada currently has 12 number-one singles to date on the Oricon Singles chart, with two notable record achievements for a female solo or group artist: 5 of them being million-sellers and 4 placing in the Top 100 All-Time Best-selling Singles.For her achievements, she was described by Time Magazine in 2001 as a "Diva On Campus," while attending Columbia University for a brief, career-break semester in 2001. In 2003, Utada was ranked #24 in the survey of Top 100 Japanese Pop Artists of All Time by HMV, and #10 in HMV's Top 30 Best Japanese Singers of All Time in 2006.

Additionally, Utada is also credited for two theme song contributions to Square Enix's Kingdom Hearts video game series: "Simple and Clean" and "Sanctuary". In 2007, her single "Flavor of Life" reached #2 in worldwide digital download yearly single chart with over 7.2 million downloads,and contributes to 12 million digital sales for her over the same year.

Biography

Early life and beginnings

Hikaru Utada was born in New York City to Japanese parents with roots in the Japanese music industry. Her father, Teruzane Utada, was a record producer while her mother, Junko Utada, was an enka singer, performing under the stage name "Keiko Fuji." Junko Utada’s mother, and Hikaru’s grandmother, was a blind shamisen player (ごぜ, or goze). Utada made her first professional recording at the age of twelve. She did her recordings with her mother, releasing songs under a band named “U3” (also known as Utada 3) until 1996 when she started her first solo project, "I'll be Stronger." The "Cookin' With Moses Vocal" from this project was called the "Cookin' With Gas Vocal" on the promotional release.

"I’ll Be Stronger" was the first song Utada wrote. It was released under the artist name "Cubic U," a mathematical reference to her being the third Utada 'power,' which was Hikaru's pseudonym before becoming a superstar in Japan. The song failed to release in the United States, and in 1997, she started her next project, though at first she was hesitant. Cubic U released her debut single "Close to You," which was a cover of The Carpenters' song. She then released her debut album Precious, but it failed to be released in the United States due to restructuring issues at her then record label Capitol Records.

She released Precious in Japan on January 28, 1998, and then later re-released it on March 31, 1999 to much better success. It has sold 702,060 copies to date in Japan, making it a significant hit for an all-English album in that market.

HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR - VIDEOS

2009-01-04T12:33:00.000-08:00

HIGH AND MIGHTY COLOR

High and Mighty Color (ハイ・アンド・マイティ・カラー) is a Japanese rock band signed to Sony Music Entertainment Japan.

History
2009

The band was transferred to Spice Records on January 1st, 2009, Spice Records is an Okinawa based studio that maintained minor rights to the band while under SME. The first live DVD from the band was released on January 25 and reached the 11th spot on the Oricon weekly DVD charts, reaching a peak of 9th on the daily charts. After the departure of Mākii the band began auditions for a replacement vocalist, the auditions were open to women for a month before call backs and performances were done. On February 9, 2009, the band announced that a replacement vocalist was found, whose information would soon be added to their website after an extensive overhaul. The band plans to begin working on a summer single and live tour to promote the new vocalist in May. The band will be releasing a new album entitled "SWAMP MAN," this will be the first album to feature the bands new vocalist, HALCA. SWAMP MAN will be released September 2nd. Their first single featuring HALCA, "XYZ", was released on iTunes in both Japan and Australia on July 8, 2009.

GO GO 7188 - VIDEOS

2009-01-04T12:27:00.000-08:00

GO!GO!7188

GO!GO!7188 (Go Go Nana Ichi Hachi Hachi), also known simply as Gogo, is a Japanese rock band with influences spanning from surf rock to punk rock to enka. The band was formed in June of 1998 by Yumi Nakashima (nicknamed Yuu) and Akiko Noma (nicknamed Akko), both alumnae of the same year at Shoyo High School in Kagoshima, Kyūshū. The band's drummer, Turkey, joined in 1999 and they debuted on Breast/milia, a division of Capitol Records (Toshiba-EMI) in 2000. The meaning of the band's name is known only to its members.

Members

* Yuu (ユウ), Real name: Yumi Nakashima (中島優美 Nakashima Yumi, born December 1, 1979) Vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter. Released a solo album, Ten no Mikaku as Yuu, in 2004. Released the album Iroha with side band, Chirinuruwowaka in 2005.
* Akko (アッコ), Real name: Akiko Noma (野間亜紀子 Noma Akiko, maiden name: 浜田 Hamada, born February 13, 1980) Bassist, backup vocalist, and lyricist. Released a solo album, Kirari under her real name in 2003. Second solo album, Aru yō de nai yō de, aru mono, was released on November 2, 2005.
* Turkey (ターキー), Real name: Takayuki Hosokawa (細川貴之 Hosokawa Takayuki, born July 10, 1973) Drummer, additional vocals.

GACKT - VIDEOS

2009-01-04T12:21:00.000-08:00

GACKT

Gackt Camui (神威楽斗, Kamui Gakuto) is an Okinawan musician, composer, lyricist, poet, author, actor, designer and model. Usually referred to by his mononymous stage name, he is known for his work with Malice Mizer and after leaving Malice Mizer started his career as a solo artist. Besides Japanese, he has performed in English, French, Korean, Cantonese, and Mandarin.

Biography

Early life

Gackt Camui was born in Okinawa, Japan, on July 4 ( precise year not known ). His father was a music teacher primarily playing the trumpet and his mother was also a teacher. According to Gackt's autobiography, he was a mischievous child and enjoyed taking risks; at age of seven he nearly drowned while swimming off the coast of Okinawa. After this near-death experience, he claimed to have the ability to see and speak with deceased family members, a notion which was dismissed by his parents. At the age of ten, Gackt was hospitalized with a gastrointestinal condition and had to remain at the hospital for a prolonged time. He made the acquaintance of several terminally ill children, some of whom died during his stay.

Gackt's musical education began at age three, when his parents initiated his classical piano education, which he grew tired of four years later. It would take another four years until his parents allowed him to quit. Gackt is known for being very competitive, and when he learned that a friend was also learning piano it led to Gackt taking up the piano again so he could be better. Having only listened to classical and enka while growing up, Gackt didn't become interested in rock music until he was a young adult. He cites Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" as being particularly inspiring, and went on to master modern percussion and guitar.

GIRL NEXT DOOR - VIDEOS

2009-01-04T12:14:00.000-08:00

GIRL NEXT DOOR

Girl Next Door is a Japanese J-pop trio that debuted in 2008 on the Avex Trax label. The band consists of vocalist Chisa, guitarist Yuji Inoue and Daisuke Suzuki on keyboard.

Girl Next Door was formed in March, and subsequently made their official debut in September 2008. Originally a member of Ma-Kiss, Chisa was presented many times in front of Max Matsuura (founder of Avex) through Avex Artist Academy Show Case. After many attempts by AAA staff, Chisa was finally acknowledged by Max Matsuura and was then introduced to keyboard player Suzuki and guitar player, Inoue.

Chisa was born November 16, 1985 and grew up in Hyōgo Prefecture. Her full name is Chisa Maekawa (前川千紗).

Girl Next Door's debut single, "Guzen no Kakuritsu" (偶然の確率), was placed online on several sites from May 29, 2008. As of July 2008[update], there were two million views.

Over a period of three months from their debut, they have released three singles. On December 24, 2008, they released their self-titled debut album including songs from the three singles.

On December 22, 2008, the band's official fanclub "Next Door" opened.

The band's fifth single "Infinity" was released on June 10, 2009. It is also the theme song for the 2009 Spring tv show Atashinchi no Danshi & it's the trio's 1st #1 single. It's also confirmed that they will also sing the OP song of the game Tales of VS using the song "Be your wings". The 6th single is confirmed to be released in August 5, 2009.

FICTIONJUCTION YUUKA - VIDEOS

2009-01-04T12:07:00.000-08:00

FICTIONJUNCTION YUUKA

FictionJunction YUUKA(フィクションジャンクション・ユウカ, Fikushon Jankushon Yūka, though it is usually in English) is a Japanese pop duo, part of Japanese composer Yuki Kajiura’s solo project FictionJunction, consisting of Yuuka Nanri (vocals) and Kajiura (composition, lyrics and keyboards).

Biography

The pair first met at Minami Aoyama Shōjo Kagekidan (南青山少女歌劇団, South Aoyama Female Opera Group?, also called Nanshō), a stage group for teenage girls where Kajiura wrote music for some of the plays and Nanri was a performer.

Their first recording was "Akatsuki no Kuruma" (暁の車, Vessel of Dawn), an insert song in the popular mecha anime Mobile Suit Gundam SEED, though their debut single was the opening of Madlax, "Hitomi no Kakera" (瞳の欠片, Fragments of the Eyes?), released on May 8, 2004. [1] On July 27, 2004, the ending theme to Madlax, "inside your heart", was released. In the same year, because of its popularity and the fact that it was Gundam SEED's one-year anniversary, "Akatsuki no Kuruma" was released as a single, which at its peak placed at #10 on the Oricon weekly rankings and sold over 19,481 copies on the first week.

After a hiatus of exactly a year, Honoh no Tobira (The Gates of Flame), an insert song for Gundam SEED DESTINY, was released, becoming the first seiyū single to hit #1 on Oricon daily rankings.

On November 23, 2005, the duo released their debut album, Destination which placed on the Oricon weekly rankings at #9.

On May 10, 2006, FictionJunction YUUKA released their fifth single after approximately eight months. That year, they also recorded a song, "aikoi", for the Tsubasa Chronicle anime series, which was not released as a single but instead included in the anime's fourth original soundtrack. In November of that same year, they released the opening theme for Sunrise's Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto, "Kōya Ruten" (荒野流転, Wilderness Vicissitudes?).

FictionJunction YUUKA held their first live concert entitled Premium Live 2007 on February 8 and February 15 of 2007. A new album, circus was announced and it was released on July 4 of the same year.. As Kajiura is handling the music for upcoming anime El Cazador de la Bruja, their seventh single, "romanesque", became the ending theme of the anime above. El Cazador de la Bruja was produced by Bee Train, whose anime productions FictionJunction YUUKA has also done songs for previously.

ERI NOBUCHIKA - VIDEOS

2009-01-04T12:00:00.000-08:00

ERI NOBUCHIKA

Eri Nobuchika (信近エリ, Nobuchika Eri) is a Japanese pop singer and songwriter under the Fearless Records label on Sony Music Associated Records. She currently resides in Tokyo.

Biography

Before her debut

Eri's professional career started at Sony Music SD "Gonna be a star" audition, a regularly held event for aspiring new pop artists. She sent in her demotape but forgot to put her address in it. The president of the audition wanted to contact her, and after asking for her through a few calls to Fukuokan post offices, he finally got hold of Eri.

At the audition, she raised interest in producer Shinichi Osawa. She got 7 more label offers, but ultimately signed with Sony Music, and teamed up with Shinichi Osawa. As an artist on his label, Fearless Records, Osawa would go on to primarily produce Eri's music as he did with fellow label artist bird. in To

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DREAMS COME TRUE - VIDEOS

2009-01-04T11:51:00.000-08:00

DREAMS COME TRUE

Dreams Come True (ドリームズ・カム・トゥルー, Dorīmuzu Kamu Turū) is a music duo from Japan, formed in 1988 that has sold more than 50 million records worldwide.

History

Dreams Come True was started by Bassist Masato Nakamura, and is fronted by Miwa Yoshida, who is the band's main singer-songwriter. They were originally a three-piece band with Takahiro Nishikawa on keyboards, until he departed in 2002. The band is commonly known as DCT (Dreams Come True) and sometimes referred to as "Dorikamu" (ドリカム) by their fans. Dreams Come True released their self-titled debut album in 1989, which sold more than one million copies. Their 1992 release, The Swinging Star, was the first Japanese album to sell over three million copies, and for several years held the title of the best-selling Japanese-language album of all time.

In 1993, they recorded "Winter Song" for the opening theme of the TriStar Pictures film Sleepless in Seattle and the following year recorded the song "Eternity" for the animated film The Swan Princess by New Line Cinema. In Japan, they recorded theme songs for TBS television shows, and it wasn't long before they caught the attention of the Walt Disney company, and were hired to create musical-tunes for their television shows, and attractions at the Tokyo Disney Resort. In 2001, they composed the theme song for the Japanese release on the Disney film Atlantis, and Miwa was hired to be the voice actor for the character Audrey Rocio Ramirez in the Japanese version.

Miwa Yoshida started a solo music career in 1995, and the following year appeared on the cover of Time Magazine. She has also appeared in advertisements for Sony, Visa, Honda, Shiseido, Lotte, Vodafone, and Coca Cola. Meanwhile Masato was hired to compose the music for television commercials, and around the same time compiled various "Dreams Come True" songs for Konami to be used in their game series Dance Dance Revolution. He had previously been hired to compose the music for the Sonic the Hedgehog video games on the Sega Mega Drive.

On April 1, 1996, they released Love Unlimited, which would be their final album for Sony Music. News of their departure would cause Sony Music shares to drop severely on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. They later signed with Virgin Music America and Toshiba-EMI in Japan, due to that label's promises to break the group into the American market--something Sony was unwilling to do. Their first album under the new contract, Sing Or Die (a title that half-jokingly described the band's relationship with their former label, according to Nakamura), was released in an English-language version, but received very little promotion and even less airplay. It would be the band's final album as a trio, and Takahiro Nishikawa would depart the band shortly after its release. Sing or Die was Virgin's only attempt to penetrate the American market, and its failure would taint the band's future relationship with that label.

Part of the failure of the Virgin-DCT relationship can be laid at the label's attempt to renovate the band into something the American audiences could relate to. Miwa dropped her last name, Nakamura became "King Masa," but Nishikawa remained the same, and only received a passing mention on Sing or Die's liner notes. Musically, the album veered away from the classic DCT formula and deeper into the hip-hop dance theme begun on Delicious and Love Unlimited. The combination was not well-received by American audiences, nor DCT's legion of loyal Japanese fans.

There are conflicting accounts concerning Nishikawa's departure. Nishikawa himself states both he and longtime DCT producer Mike Pela were forced out by Virgin because they didn't fit into the label's makeover for the band. However, he also adds that prior to that, he hadn't been touring with DCT for some time, which supports the official account. At present, there seems to be little chance of Nishikawa playing with his former bandmates ever again.

Following 2001's monkey girl odyssey, DCT severed all ties with Virgin and Toshiba-EMI, and set up shop with Universal Music Japan. More recent albums such as The Love Rocks and And I Love You have returned to the classic DCT sound, and have been received more warmly.

They have also been involved in charity events. Including a collaboration with Ryuichi Sakamoto in 2001 to help raise funds for land mine removal agencies, and taking part in the Live 8 benefit concert in 2005.

In 2008, their single "Tsuretette Tsuretette" debuted a top on the Oricon weekly chart, nine years since their last number-one single "Asa ga Mata Kuru". The song also appears on the band's most recent album, Do You Dreams Come True. The album is available in three versions: A single disc version, containing the main album; a second that adds Greatest Hits: The Soul 2, a sequel to their 2000 greatest-hits package; and a third that adds a live DVD, "Winter Fantasia 2008."